MMKMTKHMA, YSM, CU, SHH, 4KHB
by Sallem Cortez 004
Summary: Minato X All of his Sekirei. With many twists and turns, and it's all thanks to a mysterious new party who's ulterior motives to all of his actions are unclear. Warning! Contains large amounts of Fourth-Wall Breaking! Don't like, don't read. That said, it's a decent story, and many people have given a great deal off good feedback. I'd say about 85% of all the reviews are positive.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, to all of those who like to read Sekirei fanfics, I hope you like this. Also I own nothing related to the original, no, that honor is held by some weirdo who is known for yaoi manga from what I've heard.

* * *

Minato woke-up one day to a bizarre occurrence.

He wasn't the only one in his futon this morning.

That in itself was nothing knew to him, he was used to all of his Sekirei, barring Homura of course as he's still uncomfortable about being winged by a guy, being in the same futon as him. However they had all stopped doing that after the landlady changed the rooming arrangements (while backing her decision up with her demonic-looking, mask-like aura of sorts), and back when they had done it on a nightly basis they had always gone to sleep with him, which prevented him from getting very much sleep himself. This time however, he knew that he went to sleep alone, and yet here they were, in bed with him, sleeping soundly, without a care in the world.

Or at least he assumed they were, since he hadn't found the courage to open his eyes and confirm his fears yet. However, he knew that he couldn't very well just get up and walk away from this, due in full to the fact he couldn't move without disturbing, and potentially waking up at least one of his Sekirei that he was positive were lying in his futon. So he decided to open his eyes and see exactly which of his Sekirei were in his futon with him, so that he could determine the best course of action for defusing the bomb that was about to go off in his room.

_'Let's see here...'_ He thought as he began his appraisal of the situation._ 'We have Musubi and Tsukiumi, each one trying to hold me closer to themselves than the other, no surprise there, then there's Matsu, Kusano, and Kazehana, all vying for control of my legs, with Kazehana wining it looks like, and Homura is...'_ His brain shorted-out at that. "Homura!" He shouted, before he quickly realized his mistake and covered his mouth, as if doing so would magically undo his outburst, but it wouldn't, and he would be stuck attempting to defuse a bomb of incredible magnitude, a fact that he was all too well aware of.

"What is it Minato?" They all said in unison, with slight variations in wording and inflection, as they groggily awoke from there slumber, only to suddenly snap into full consciousness upon seeing the situation going on around them.

"What are you all doing in here?" Shouted Tsukiumi accusingly, pointing her finger in the general direction of everybody.

"That's what I want to know!" Shouted a heavily mortified Homura, who had swiftly backed away, checking his clothes frantically.

"Are we having a sleepover?" Asked Musubi vacantly, the faint image of a bear appearing behind her.

"This would be great for some experiments, hu hu hu." Chuckled Matsu huskily, her fingers moving in a creepy typing pattern.

"Ara, the more the merrier, I always say!" Cheered Kazehana happily, hugging Minato's arm to her breasts.

"Onii-Chan." Whined Kusano cutely, hugging his leg pleadingly.

"I had a feeling that something like this was happening when I heard yelling coming from Minato's room first thing in the morning." Chimed-in the landlady disapprovingly as she opened the door. "I believe I've already told you all that I will not tolerate anything obscene going on in my inn." She spoke calmly, as the fearsome, and all too familiar image of a hanya mask appeared behind her, defusing the bomb that Minato did not, under any circumstances, want to go off.

"Miya-san!" Minato gasped, so grateful was he that a potential natural disaster of massive amounts of; water, fire, wind, vastly overgrown plants, and overall property damage, had been averted that he, unlike everyone else present, didn't care in the least about the highly dangerous presence looming over them at the moment. Rather, at the moment, it looked to him like some kind of guardian deity, sent to save him from the lions' den.

"Now would someone kindly explain what you're all doing here." Miya asked politely, the mask behind her still present.

Matsu was the first to respond. "Matsu didn't do anything! Matsu fell asleep in her own room and woke-up in Mina-tan's room." She explained as quickly as she could.

"It's the same story with me." Said Homura, who was still somewhat angry and mortified at whatever kind of prank this was. "I mean, do you really think that I'd do anything like this voluntarily."

"Even though as the legal wife I shouldn't need any reason to sleep in the same futon as my husband, I didn't come in here of my own violation." Tsukiumi explained angrily.

"Musubi is clueless!" Self explanatory on **_so_** many levels.

"Maybe we were all sleepwalking." Spoke up Kazehana. "I know that I didn't drink any alcohol yesterday, especially because I don't have a hangover today."

Kusano was too scared to speak-up, instead opting to hide behind Minato and cry a bit.

"I really don't have any idea about what's going on here either." Minato explained after he calmed down when everyone else was explaining there side of the story.

For a few seconds everyone, except Musubi, who was too stupid to understand the severity of the situation, and Minato for some other, unknown reason, were all at least a bit nervous as they waited for Miya to come to a decision based on what they had told her, but mostly based on her mood as well.

After no less than two minutes, the mask disappeared when Miya let out a sigh. "While I'm not sure exactly how much I believe your stories, the fact that Ku-chan was able to come here without my knowing may be more important than any excuses you may have."

Everyone was slightly puzzled at what she had just said, until they remembered that Ku-chan sleeps in Miya's room, and as they all know Miya is way too sensitive to her surroundings, even in her sleep, to not notice something like Kusano trying to sneak-out. Not to mention that at least a few of the Sekirei present were likely very sensitive to such things as well.

"So what you're saying, is that someone else might have done all this?" Homura managed to piece together.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Answered Miya. "But what confuses me, is who could possibly do this, and for what purpose?" She thought this over for a bit, before realizing that she had forgotten that Minato was present, and that she was likely making him feel uneasy with her overly serious, and out of character (to his knowledge anyway) behavior, and decided to put those questions aside for the moment. "Well, enough of that, it's time for me to make breakfast, and time for all of you to get out of this room and into some decent clothes." She said with the mask, before she left her, now rather nervous boarders, to go prepare breakfast and to think over what could have caused this incredibly unusual, not to mention almost impossible to pull off, incident, but first... "That means now everyone." She called back, and was very satisfied to hear a sudden rush of six sets of footfalls as she left.

* * *

"That was weird." Voiced Minato as soon as everyone was out._ 'I wonder why she didn't punish anyone by taking away breakfast, or something along those lines, like she usually would.'_ He pondered this as he was getting dressed, before an more pressing question worked it's way to the surface.

"Why wasn't I afraid of her?" He said aloud unknowingly.

"Why weren't you afraid of who, Minato?" Asked a groggy voice from his doorway.

"Uzume!" He startled at the sudden intrusion, and turned around to see said Sekirei, and her Ashikabi.

Blood burst from Minato's nose at the sight he saw as he rushed to close the door that his visitors had seen fit to open while wearing nothing but their underwear.

After his Sekirei had brought Chiho to the M.B.I. building to try and cure her, she'd made a full recovery, and since she had no living family to look after her, Uzume had brought her back with her to Izumo Inn. That much he was fine with, and in fact supported. The fact that they both had made a habit of walking around in their underwear in the morning however, not so much.

"Will you two please put on some clothes!" He shouted, back to the door, panicked, and red faced.

"Sorry Minato." He heard two voices chime in response simultaneously.

"Anyway, what were you talking about before Minato?" Asked Chiho.

"Oh, that, well it's not much really." He started. "It's just that all of my Sekirei were in my room this morning, and I wasn't really scared when the landlady saw it."

"What!" They shouted simultaneously, finally drawing the attention and company of everyone else in the inn, except for the landlady.

"Why are you two outside of Minato's door dressed in so little attire." Tsukiumi asked dangerously.

"Oh, well you see, we'd heard a commotion and came to see what was going on here." Uzume replied, somewhat frightened at the fact that she was outnumbered, vastly outmatched, and that at least half of these people were seriously pissed off at her right now.

"In your underwear, Uzume?" Voiced Homura. "It's bad enough that you do this on a regular basis, but the fact that your little bad habit is rubbing off on your Ashikabi is a bit too much." Tsukiumi nodded in agreement at this.

"Sowwy." Apologized Uzume, trying, to look as cute as possible to appeal to the nicer half of some of the Sekirei present. Failing that however, both she and Chiho made a quick beeline to their shared room.

* * *

A little while later, after everyone was properly dressed and ready for the day, breakfast was being served, and much to the surprise of most of the inn's residents, they were actually being allowed to eat, as opposed to being left to starve until lunch as punishment for being found in the same bed this morning.

Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth however, they happily went about eating their meal in their usual manner. Which is to say, Tsukiumi, Musubi, and Kusano all trying to feed Minato, despite his protests, Matsu, and Kazehana subtly eying Minato like a piece of meat on display, and Homura just trying to blend into the background. However, two people were acting differently from usual, those two being Uzume and Chiho, whose gazes shifted between Minato and Miya, the same question burning on both of their minds. _'Why wasn't he afraid of the landlady?'_ Even though Chiho was new to Izumo Inn, she already knew as well as all of the other residents that Miya was a terrifying person when she needed to be, even when her anger wasn't directed at you, so to both of them it seemed impossible for anyone with at least half a brain (which means Musubi clearly isn't included in this list), especially someone as timid and submissive as Minato, to not fear her. They were so lost in thought, pondering this particular question, that they hadn't noticed they'd been staring at Miya for a good two minutes already, an offense that was responded to with a quick ladle to the head for both of them.

"It's bad manners to stare you two." She said as the visage of a hanya mask appeared behind her.

Scared of the mask they were, but they also saw their chance to see weather or not Minato was telling the truth when he said he wasn't afraid of Miya. They took a quick look around the room and, sure enough, everyone, save for Musubi and Minato, were at least a little bit shaken from being in the same room as Miya when she's in a bad mood.

"How is this possible?" The pair murmured in unison.

"How is what possible?" Asked the very man they were puzzled about.

"You're not scared of the landlady." Uzume whispered out, before she quickly covered her mouth, obviously somehow getting the same, unfortunately false, idea Minato had had earlier, about how covering your mouth could magically erase the last thing you said.

A collective gasp was heard all around the room, some for different reasons than others, until someone spoke up on the subject.

"Of course he's not scared of me," Began Miya, the hanya mask behind her began getting bigger and bigger as she said this, "I'm the nice landlady who allows you all to stay here in exchange for low rent and doing chores around the house. I'm not the kind of person who anyone would ever be scared of." By the time she was done, her tone had gotten very dangerous, the hanya mask behind her was bigger than she was, and everyone in the room, save for Minato, was cowering behind something or someone. Even people like Musubi and Kazehana, who normally wouldn't duck and cover for anything short of a massive natural disaster were hiding from the wrath of Miya.

_'He's really not scared of me!'_ Thought Miya, just as shocked, if not more so, as anyone else in the room at the sight of the somewhat confused, though definitely not scared, man sitting at the table, who was currently taking advantage of the fact that his Sekirei weren't adamantly trying to feed him by eating his fill of the food at the table. _'How is this happening? I know that I'm not losing my touch, because everyone else is quaking in their boots right now, but for some reason Minato's not even nervous.'_

She was so focused on this question, that she unknowingly let the aura she was maintaining dissipate, allowing the others in the room to slowly regain their nerves. Just as they were about to ask Minato how he'd stood-up against Miya's aura without even flinching, he got up and walked over to the door, or at least they thought he was, until he stopped by the very woman who had scared them each into a corner not moments ago.

"Are you all right Miya-san? You seem a little out of it today." He asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She quickly snapped out of whatever trance she was in, stood up, and calmly responded to his inquiry. "Thank-you for your concern Minato, but I'm perfectly fine. I just have a lot on my mind right now, that's all." She answered before going to the door herself. "Now if you'll all excuse me, I have some things I have to attend to now." Leaving for her room as soon as she said this, and hopefully leaving Minato stuck having to answer the questions everyone else at the inn may have about his impossibly strong nerves of steel.

* * *

_'How is this happening?'_ Panicked Miya when she got to her room. _'I've had this feeling described to me enough times to know exactly how it feels without ever having experienced it myself, but this can't be happening to me! It can't! It's impossible!'_

_'I can't be reacting to Minato!'

* * *

_How do you like that people!

I read a Minato x Miya fic once before, but I wasn't very satisfied with it. Mostly because it contained too much fluff, and had some things in it that seriously conflicted with some very important stuff that was established in the canon, so I decided to make this in order to fill my cravings for this crack pairing, but for some reason it makes me feel empty inside. Maybe because I'm the one writing this fic?

Anyway, if you like, please review, and give me some ideas.

Also note, that I won't stop writing my other fic, I'm just taking a long break from it so I can come up with some ideas.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello all! Hoped you liked the first chapter. I mean, if you didn't, why would you even be here? Anyway, as you all already know, I don't own this series, some yaoi fan does. Now, on with the show.

* * *

"I wonder what that was all about?" Wondered Minato after he had finally managed to get everyone else in the inn to stop pestering him about how he wasn't scared of the landlady today, a great feat that took no less than half an hour to accomplish. _'I'm just as confused about it as they are. I mean, usually I'd be terrified of her, especially with how big that mask of hers got today, but for some reason I'm not.'_ Deciding that he probably wasn't going to get the answer he was looking for anytime soon, no matter who he asked, he instead elected to just do some chores for now to get his mind off things.

Meanwhile, everyone else at the in was still pondering the same question that Minato had momentarily given up at trying to solve.

* * *

**Musubi**

_'Minato is so brave.'_ She thought excitedly. _'He stood tall against a monster not even Musubi was strong enough to look in the eye, and he even made her retreat.' _Was the, overly romanticized, conclusion that she had come to, complete with poorly drawn illustrations dancing through the short trip through her head. _'Minato is truly a great Ashikabi. Musubi will have to do her best to catch-up to Minato's great bravery.'_

She would go on to spend the rest of her day thinking of ways to become as brave as her Ashikabi, and doing chores like she usually does.

* * *

**Kusano**

_'Kuu has a great Onii-san. __Onii-san protected Kuu from the scary looking monster that made Kuu cry and he even scared it away. Kuu is so lucky to have such a nice Onii-san.' _She thought fondly, before her thoughts took a turn to a slightly more devious side, one which, much like her level of wisdom and insight, was unusually well developed for her age. It was a side that normally only showed itself when she was jealous of any attention her Onii-san gave to his other Sekirei._ 'And maybe a great husband someday, if Kuu can just get everyone else out of the way.'_

The rest of her day would be spent coming up with ways to remove her competition, without hurting the feelings of her Onii-san.

* * *

**Matsu**

_'How is it possible?' _Was the basic, and straight to the point question that was still on her mind. _'For someone who doesn't absolutely love fighting and staring death in the face to not fear Miya should be completely impossible!' _She was so focused on this question that she wasn't even trying to work on her computers to blow off some steam, or try to find some possible answers on them like she usually would. _'Let's try to think about this rationally Matsu-tan. Who else has never shown any fear of Miya-tan in the past.' _She didn't have to think for long, as only two people fit the bill. "Takehito and Karasuba." These were the only people she could think of, and they fit the bill for two completely different reasons. _'But the only reason that Karasuba has never been scared is because she's completely bloodthirsty, and the reason Takehito was never scared was because he could easily be just as scary, and because he...'_ Her thoughts stopped there, before starting up again, only this time there wasn't anything rational about it. _'How could, there's just no, he's too, and she can't be, but it's, could it, I don't know, but what other...'_

She would spend the rest of the day in a fruitless argument with herself._

* * *

_**Tsukiumi**

_'Does Minato fear nothing?' _She asked herself. _'That must be it. Everything that he's been through since the start of the Sekirei Plan must have rendered him completely fearless! How else could he not be scared of such a fierce demon?' _Was the "logical" conclusion she had come to._ 'But having a lack of fear could be disastrous for someone like him. He's not a Sekirei like almost everyone else at the inn is, he's a human, and he could easily get hurt in the life he's living if he completely lacks fear, and I cannot let that happen!' _She thought, a fire raging in her eyes as she thought this. Ironic, given that her affinity was with water._ 'As the legal wife it's my job to do something about his wanton recklessness, and remind him of just how dangerous the Sekirei Plan is.' _Her resolve set, she went to Matsu to get her help in finding some images and videos from the Sekirei Plan to remind her husband of just how the dangerous life he's leading now is. Unfortunately for her, Matsu was currently far too wrapped up in something else for some reason to even notice her, much less be of any help.

Her first plan foiled, she would spend the rest of the day trying to figure out how to go about reinstalling the fear Minato once had, for his own safety.

* * *

**Kazehana**

_'I wonder what that was all about?' _She wondered bluntly. _'I know something's up here, and not just with Minato. The reaction that Miya gave from just a touch was suspicious too.'_ It was no mystery that Kazehana was a very playful person, nor was it any big secret that she would keep a secret, and later tell it, for no better reason than that she just felt like it, (though because of the later, and the fact that some people *cough* Matsu *cough* just had to have a big mouth, most things related to her were now well known to everyone at the inn) and because of the secretive half of her nature, and in spite of her gossipy half, few people knew just how observant she really was to her surroundings, and she could tell that something was up with Miya. _'Her sudden reaction from being touched by Minato reminded me of how I acted around him before he winged me, but there's no way she could be reacting to him, she just wasn't adjusted for it. Or was she?' _As the question rose to her mind a possible answer followed soon after._ 'After all I didn't exactly see her adjustments myself, there was a good chunk of time that I wasn't around her, and I was mostly just taking what I was told as facts, so who's to say that she couldn't be reacting to him?' _Her mind was spinning with all the fun that could be had here. _'Ohhh, I can't wait to see where this goes, and if he actually wings her, then hooray for everyone! The more the merrier after all!'_

She would spend the rest of her day going about her usual business, with the occasional random fit of giggles. No, wait, on second thought, even that's normal by her standards.

* * *

**Homura**

_'What's going on here?' _He asked himself. _'I know that kind of response Miya gave Minato. It was subtle, but it was the same kind of response I used to fear happening to myself.'_

_'Reacting to an Ashikabi.'_

_'But how could she be reacting to someone? From what I understand she's Sekirei No.01, and Matsu let slip that the first Sekirei wasn't really a Sekirei. Since she's No.01 that should be her, but there was also mention of some No.00, but because of the big deal Minaka made out of me being the final Sekirei that can still be winged I'm still not sure... Ahhhh, forget it! It's all too complicated. I'll probably hurt my head trying to __solve this, Miya probably won't say anything even if I ask her, and even if she is reacting to Minato, knowing her there's no way she'd let herself be winged.' _He was satisfied with the conclusion he'd come to, until a stray thought worked its way into his head. _'But then again, I was dead set on never being winged too, and yet here I am, as one of Minato's Sekirei. If he could wing me peacefully, and without much complaint on my part, aside from the fact that he's a man,' _he cringed at that thought, _'who's to say that he couldn't wing Miya?'_

The rest of his day would be spent trying, and largely succeeding, to stay away from that particular question._

* * *

_**?**

"Yo ho ho ho." An unknown voice chuckled softly. "It would seem that a desirable reaction was produced as a result of my little experiment. Now to move things along here, and further my plans for this farce that idiot came up with." The unknown interloper said as he loaded his blowpipe.

* * *

**Minato**

"There we are. Nice and clean." Said Minato, satisfied at his work on the laundry. Just as he was about to put it all away however... "Ow" He said as he reached to the back of his neck to see what it was that pricked him there, only to find a dart for his troubles. "What the..." Was all he managed to say, before he passed out on the floor.

* * *

"Yo ho ho. Now that I have my weapon, I just need to wait until the time to strike, and strike hard when it is." Chuckled ? as he heaved Minato over his shoulder, and took him to where he was needed.

* * *

**Miya**

_'Calm down Miya, there's no need to be alarmed. Even if you are reacting to Minato, you have the self control to not act on it,' _she reasoned as she walked down the hall, completely unaware of the evil lurking nearby, _'and it's not as if Minato's a sexual predator, no matter how much you tease him about having so many Sekirei. So long as everyone who knows that you're a Sekirei keeps their mouths shut, and Minato doesn't figure it out on his own, you have nothing to worry about.'_ After she'd managed to calm herself down, she felt a massive relief wash over her, signaled by her letting out a sigh.

* * *

_'Now!' _Thought ?, who had been walking right in front of Miya all along, completely unnoticed, as he shoved Minato right into her.

* * *

"Wha-" Miya got out as Minato suddenly appeared out of thin air, before he fell on her in a way she sorely wished he hadn't.

As their lips made contact Miya felt a sudden warm sensation flowing through every inch of her body, and though she'd be lying if she said she didn't enjoy it at least a little bit, she knew she wouldn't like what was going to come next.

* * *

As Minato was waking up, he noticed that he was falling forward for some reason. Why, he really didn't know, but what he saw that he was going to fall on as his eyes fluttered open was not something he wanted to see.

"Mi-" He was cut off as his lips crashed into hers and they fell on the floor in a heap together.

Almost instantly he realized that he'd kissed her and quickly got up to apologize, at least until he saw what happened next.

Wings of light suddenly appeared behind her.

* * *

_'Yo Ho! Thank goodness for portable cloaking technology, or my plan would've fallen to pieces before it even began. It may have been hard and boring to carry that dead weight around right in front of her, but I had to wait until the moment when she was most vulnerable, or else she may have done something to prevent her winging._' ? thought to himself as he typed away on his computer, watching at least seven windows at once, not too far from the scene that was Miya's winging unfolding right in front of him. _'Now as any real Chessmaster would do, I have to carefully observe where these events lead in order to determine where to go from here.'

* * *

_Just as Matsu was going to finally look to technology for the answers she was craving, she noticed something that had just popped up the screens of all of her computers that threw her for a loop, and set her running to look for Minato.

That pop-up being a confirmation of Minato Sahashi winging Sekirei No.01, Miya.

* * *

Meanwhile, at M.B.I. headquarters, the same window was popping up on all important computers.

Takami's reaction to this, was to find Minaka at breakneck speed, no doubt to keep him from doing something stupid. "Yeah, that's probably a lost cause."

Minaka's reaction to this, in addition to a maniacal laugh, was to call Minato in order to congratulate him on a job well done, hopefully before Takami could stop him. "There's clearly something seriously wrong with this man."

And Karasuba's reaction to this, was nothing short of pure psychotic glee. "Damn that chick looks hot when she wants to kill stuff... Did I just say all that out loud?" Whispered ?, hoping that no one overheard him.

* * *

Back at Izumo Inn, both Minato and Miya were trying to process what had just happened, Minato still hovering above Miya, when Tsukiumi and Matsu walked in, or in Matsu's case ran in, on the scene before them.

Now as you may already know, Matsu is already aware that Minato just winged Miya, Tsukiumi however...

"Mi-na-to." Tsukiumi began dangerously, water raging behind her as she said this. "What do you think you're doing with the landlady?"

Coming to his senses at the impending danger looming over him, he quickly righted himself, and attempted to explain what little he knew and understood about what the hell just happened. "Ts-Tsukiumi, it's not what it looks like! I don't even kno-"

"Minato Sahashi." Began Miya calmly, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Turning around at the sound of her voice he calmly asked. "What is it Miya?"

"What exactly did you do just now?" She asked, her voice and face both struggling to remain level as an absolutely massive hanya mask appeared behind her, effectively silencing anything Tsukiumi or Matsu might want to say.

"I don't know myself. I was just doing the laundry one moment, and the next, well, you know..." He answered, embarrassed, but definitely not scared. "But that aside Miya, are you a..." He trailed off, not really wanting to ask that particular question, even though he was positive that he already knew the answer.

Realizing that intimidation still wouldn't work against Minato, for reasons that she was just now beginning to understand, and that she'd have to answer his question, she got rid of the mask, and as calmly as she could at the moment responded. "Sekirei? Yes, I am." She began, causing Tsukiumi to shout something that she was too upset at the moment to really notice or care about. "And since you say you don't know how you got here, I suppose that it's pointless to press the matter any further." At this time all of Minato's other Sekirei appeared, obviously as a response to his discomfort at the situation he was in.

Just as Tsukiumi, along with almost everyone else, was about to ask what was going on, Minato's cell phone started ringing, and upon his answering it he was greeted by the very same voice that had started all his misfortune a few short months ago in the first place.

_"Greetings Minato __Sahashi__!" _Minaka's voice boomed over his phone, loud enough for everyone present to hear. _"I'd like to be the first to congratulate you on your winging of Sekirei No.01, Miya!" _Hearing this made everyone present display various levels of shock, for equally various reasons. _"I'd also like to say... Hey, wait a second, Takami no, I'm on the phone here... Please hold for a moment Minato!"_ He said as he was trying, and succeeding, to get away from Takami on the other end.

Feeling pretty upset at what was going on, Minato decided to speak up, and when he did something very surprising happened.

"Will someone please explain what's going on?" He asked calmly, as the image of a ferocious 7-headed dragon appeared on both ends of the line.

To say that the monster that appeared was scary was a colossal understatement. Each head looked different and were arranged in a hexagon pattern, with the seventh head in the center, all of which were attached to a massive, silver, six-legged, four-winged, and seven-tailed body. The seven heads and tails, in clockwise and counter-clockwise order respectively, starting at the top were; a black and furry head and tail, a green head and tail that both had a very plant-like appearance, a steel colored and mechanical head and tail, a blue and fish-like head and tail, a pink and feathery head and tail, a head and tail that were made entirely of fire, at the center was a violet head and tail that could both only be described as demonic, and all seven heads looked, and sounded, extremely pissed.

_"GAHHHHHHH! MONSTER!" _Was all that Minaka managed to shout on the other end of the line, before he passed out. Takami was also scared stiff of the beast that had suddenly appeared, though only enough to fall on her ass, not enough to pass out.

The reactions at the inn were not much better.

Musubi was starry-eyed at the monster that Minato had made, though she was still hiding behind a wall.

Kusano had passed out.

Matsu was hiding on the second floor, whilst also crying and begging for her life.

Tsukiumi was paralyzed with fear.

Kazehana was close to an orgasm, for reasons best left unsaid.

Homura had just taken a few steps back, not wanting to look like a coward.

Uzume and Chiho, who were back in their room, felt a sudden primal fear take over their bodies that made them hide under their futons.

Miya couldn't help the smile that appeared on both her face, and the face of her hanya mask, at the site of the cute dragon in front of her.

And ?... Well he wasn't exactly scared per say, but he still wasn't gonna go any closer to that thing than he had to, no matter how fuckin' awesome it looked (his words, not mine).

Suddenly, just as quickly as it had appeared, it vanished, with Minato completely unaware that it had even appeared, much less that he made it, in the first place.

"Hello, hello? Is anyone there?" Minato asked over the phone, too focused on the phone call he'd gotten to notice most of his Sekirei still cowering in fear.

* * *

Snapped out of her daze by the noise over the phone, Takami picked it up to answer it, stuttering a bit as she did. "H-hello, Minato." She began

_"Mom? What's going on?"_ She heard her son ask.

"That's what I should be asking you! Why the hell did you wing Miya? For that matter how the hell did you even know that she was a Sekirei? Hell, I should be asking how you could have winged her in the first place, she's not exactly someone that **anyone **would have an easy time of winging!" She wisely decided to leave out the fact that she had long doubted it was even possible to wing her. _'No need to tell the boy anymore than he already knows_.' She told herself.

After Minato explained what had happened to his mother, she had to take a moment to take it all in. His story sounded highly unlikely, if not impossible, but she'd long since instilled into him a fear of doing things she wouldn't approve of, lying being one of many. Though she wasn't exactly sure of just how much hold that fear had over him anymore, what with him standing up to her on the bridge after the escape of No.95, as well as the dragon that he had just made. The latter reminded her of how Takehito used to get when he was angry, a trait that had rubbed off on Miya, that had apparently rubbed off on Minato when he winged her. Deciding that she wouldn't get anywhere by just thinking about it she opted to wrap up the call as soon as possible, before that idiot woke up and did something stupid.

"While I'm not sure if I really believe your story, the fact still stands that you winged Miya, and that's likely going to mean trouble for you in the future." She sighed into the phone.

_"What do you mean mom?" _He asked, not really understanding how winging Miya would cause any trouble for him, after all, he'd already been living under the same roof as her for a while, and she didn't seem like the type of person who'd change anything just because he winged her.

"You're kidding, right?" She asked, only to receive a negative response. Sighing at this while pinching the bridge of her nose, she knew that he was not going to like the explanation he was going to get. "Miya is the kind of woman who always does things "properly". Like making her husband, or in this case her Ashikabi, do all of the things normally expected of a husband; supporting her, managing the income and taxes, spending lots of time with her, keeping the inn in good shape, the kind of stuff I know you would do horribly at." She finished, somewhat glad that he was probably shaking in his boots at the other end of the line.

_"I do most of that stuff now though." _Was the simple reply her gave her that made her fall on her ass for the second time in less than five minutes.

"What did you say?" She squeezed out as she recovered from her shock.

_"I said I already do most of that stuff now." _He repeated simply, before he began to elaborate. _"Because of the small allowance you give me I had to learn how to budget my money better than I already did when you gave me a decent one, I've done all the chores myself since I moved out of the house, and I still do a lot of chores around the inn, not to mention I always work hard to make sure my Sekirei are happy, even though it is a little hard to keep **everyone** happy sometimes."_

Hearing this made Takami both happy and scared at the same time. Happy because her son was growing up, and taking up some responsibility in life. Scared because her son was growing up, and he was surrounded by women who were practically begging to get some, and she didn't want to become a grandmother at such a young age. Not to mention that he was not only losing his fear of her, but if that dragon was anything to go by he was also beginning to scare her, and she didn't like being on the other end of the barrel.

Sighing for what seemed like the tenth time in the past few minutes, she noticed that the idiot was beginning to stir, so she decided to wrap this up quickly, before he could do something stupid, again. _'Why do I work for this man again? Let alone have sex with him, not once, but twice. Even though it was just two times about two decades ago, and I'm glad that I have Minato and Yukari__ in my life, I still can't help but question the sanity in sleeping with him in the first place.' _Regaining her composure, she began the end of the conversation.

"Since you seem to have things well at hand, I suppose I should leave you to your own devices for now. Goodbye and good luck, you're gonna need it." She said before hanging up, so that she could get her revenge on the rising lunatic in front of her. He'd been doing stupid stuff unchecked for too long now, and it was time for a little payback.

* * *

_'I wonder what she meant by that?' _Minato questioned inwardly, before he turned and saw the looks he was getting from all of his Sekirei and Miya. No, wait, Miya was technically his Sekirei now too, he had to remind himself.

_'This must be what she was talking about.' _He realized somewhat grimly. _'Oh well, it's nothing I haven't lived through before, I guess.'_ It was rather sad how he graded it on weather or not he had survived it before.

* * *

Phew! That was a long one! Anyway, I'm sorry if I made Miya's winging too sudden and early, but I had to get it out of the way, right away, or else I'd have to rework the whole story.

At any rate, you now, somewhat know what the villain of the story is like, if you don't... YOU SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION!

"One more thing," I say in a Chinese accent. (if you've watched Jackie Chan Adventures you should know this joke) To those of you who posted the first and fifth reviews, you need to reread the manga, because it's stated quite clearly, on multiple occasions, that she is Sekirei No.01.

"One more thing." To the person who posted the second review... THANKS FOR SPOILING IT FOR EVERYONE!

"One more thing!" (I love saying that!) I will be using the phrase "One more thing" instead of P.S., so it'd be best if you look up the joke. The way Uncle says it is just so funny that I have to use it!

"One more thing!" Nobody will be getting married in this fic! I cannot stress enough just how much I hate it when fanfic writers make the characters jump the gun and get married without any buildup, or work on their relationship. Just because it's hard and boring to write about the work two or more people put into a relationship, that doesn't give them an excuse to just skip it and get right to the wedding day. At least 90% of the fun in reading a romance story is to see the buildup, only 10% at most is in the outcome. Many writers have put their time and brainpower to work on that kind of stuff, the least fanfic writers could do is show the same courtesy to their readers. I'm finishing this at 11:35 PM for Pete's sake!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello everyone! To the guy who posted the first review, I'd like to explain myself. Even though Matsu said that the first Sekirei wasn't really a Sekirei, she didn't explain anything beyond that because Miya scared the crap outta her, so I'm still a bit skeptical about what she meant, so for the sake of this fic (and my mental well being, to those of you who read my profile) I'm saying that she can be winged. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear enough before.

As usual, I own nothing, and please enjoy the story.

"One more thing!" I'm sorry that I'm unable to update as often as I'd like to, but whenever I go on the computer I get sucked into reading fanfics, playing Solitaire, and watching AMVs on Youtube.

* * *

_'I'm not going to have an easy time getting out of this. Partially because I have no idea what I did wrong.' _Minato panicked. _'I mean, I've already explained what happened, so what could they be upset about? Mom and my sister were right, I'll never understand women.'_

Unsurprisingly, Tsukiumi was the first to speak. "Minato," she began, her voice not really angry, upset, or anything else he could identify, which scared him more than he usually would be, "How did you do it?" That was definitely **not** what he was expecting.

"Do what?" He asked, not really understanding the question.

"You know... The dragon, I'm asking you how you made the dragon."

That just added to Minato's confusion. "What are you talking about? I didn't make any dragon."

"Yes you did! Musubi saw it too!" Musubi said as she came out from hiding, still starry-eyed.

"So did Matsu, Mina-tan, and it was really scary." Added Matsu as she came out of hiding, her voice weak with fear.

"It was just like Miya gets when she's angry, only scarier." Kazehana chimed in, only to receive a quick whack to the head with a ladle that Miya seemed to pull out of nowhere.

"I'm never angry or scary at all. I'm just a simple landlady whose purity was just stolen." Miya scolded, completely straight-faced. As her almost-ever reliable hanya mask popped up, putting Kazehana in her place.

"Miya! Please don't say it like that!" Exclaimed Minato, his face turning a vivid shade of red that everyone was more than used to by now.

"Could we please not discuss this? It's beginning to make me uncomfortable." Asked Homura, whose face was beginning to turn a nice shade of red itself.

Everyone had to admit that Homura did have something of a point. After all, most wouldn't exactly want to remember something as terrifying as the dragon they'd all just seen. Not to mention that the conversation was beginning to drift in the direction of a lovers quarrel, and he did not want to be around if that happened. Though the latter was more for his own sake than that of anybody else.

"Very well. I suppose it would be best to let this go for now." Sighed Miya, obviously tired of the quarreling going on. "However, I need to talk to Minato for a bit, alone." She said in a way that meant that there was no point in arguing with her. A point that was further emphasized by the appearance of her usual mask.

"O-K." Everyone else, aside from Minato and Kusano said nervously. Minato because he wasn't scared and the request to leave wasn't directed at him, and Kusano because she was still passed out on the floor, so she had to be carried away.

* * *

When they were all gone Miya directed Minato to her room, in order to prevent any unwanted interruptions. When they were comfortably seated Miya was the first to speak.

"Where should I begin here?" She sighed.

"How about by telling me what I don't already know about the Sekirei Plan and its history. I'm pretty sure that Matsu left out a few details." Minato suggested, obviously recalling the fact that Matsu had conveniently 'forgotten' to mention that Miya was Sekirei No.01.

"Oh, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the ground rules that I'm going to be setting for you as my Ashikabi." She said teasingly, trying to hide her chuckles behind her hand.

_'Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like where this is going.'_ He thought nervously.

"First of all, I will not do anything obscene with you like you do with your other Sekirei do, so don't bother asking me."

_'Does she really think that poorly of me?'_

"Second, you still have to pay your rent, and work off what you can't pay for. Even though I'm your Sekirei now, I still have to make a living."

_'So far nothing's really changing for me here.'_

"Third, as your Sekirei, I expect you to keep me company whenever I ask for it. I may not look like it most of the time, but I can still get lonely."

_'OK, that's something new, but not really unreasonable either.'_

"Fourth, I will not be giving you any special privileges, like letting you do anything obscene with the other residents of the inn like I know you want to, or giving you food when you don't deserve it."

_'This is starting to get annoying.' _Minato thought at the second mention of his, nonexistent sex life, in the past minute, causing the dragon to appear again, growling at Miya this time.

Chuckling, she said. "What a cute dragon."

This was really starting to confuse and annoy Minato. "What dragon? Why do you guys keep talking about that?" He asked, his voice clearly confused, the dragon beginning to flare its many nostrils like a bull would.

"The cute, seven-headed one behind you, of course." She stated happily, causing Minato to turn to get a look at this supposed 'dragon' that everyone was talking about. When he saw it his eyes immediately widened in shock.

"Wh-wh-what the hell is that!" Minato exclaimed, the dragon dissipating at his shock.

"That was your dragon. Cute isn't it?" She said, unable to stop giggling.

"I made **that**? How?" He asked, unable to stop shaking.

"Most likely it was some form of side effect from winging me. After all I'm not exactly a normal Sekirei." She realized too late that she'd said something she shouldn't have.

"Not a normal Sekirei? What do you mean Miya?" He asked Miya, who was trying her best to look innocent at the moment, but for once Minato knew better than to fall for something like that. "Miya, I know you're hiding something important." He began seriously, the dragon rearing its many heads again, only this time Minato was fully aware of its presence. "The M.B.I. President said you were Sekirei No.01, didn't he? And when I asked Matsu about the Sekirei Plan, she said that the first Sekirei wasn't really a Sekirei, and since you're No.01 that should be you, right? What's so special about you?" He was trying to look scary, in order to get some answers, but the dragon seemed to be having the opposite of the desired effect, causing her to giggle with delight, instead of tremble in fear. In hindsight, he probably should have expected that reaction. She did say that it was cute no more than a few seconds ago, after all.

"Fu fu fu, I won't be answering your entire question Minato, but what I will tell you is that I thought I could never be winged, up until you proved me wrong of course. Ask me anymore and I may have to use more than just words to end this conversation." She answered, her hanya mask apparently playing with the dragon.

_'More than just words? What does that mean?' _He thought this over for a few seconds before realizing what she must have meant by that. _'She once split a Battleship in half from bow to stern with one swipe of her sword!'_ To say that he was terrified upon remembering this very scary piece of information was a massive understatement. Even his dragon was cowering in fear now.

"Well then, if there's nothing more to say I have other things I have to do right now. So if you'll excuse me, I must be leaving, but before I go, know that you won't be getting any lunch today." She said as she stood up.

"What did I do?" He exclaimed, and as a response, she opened the door, and Musubi, Kusano, Matsu, and Tsukiumi all fell into the room in a heap. Upon looking further he also saw Kazehana and Homura by the door too. _'That would probably explain it. Miya's never been very reasonable when it comes to punishments, after all.'_

"It's not polite to eavesdrop on others." She scolded them all, the mask never having left from the time it was playing with, and later scaring, the dragon.

"Sorry!" Exclaimed everyone who'd been spying. Half of them bowing their heads to the floor (I'll let you figure out which half on your own).

"It's good that you understand what you did wrong, but as punishment none of you six are getting any lunch today. You need to keep your Sekirei under control Minato, except for me of course, you **are** living in **my** inn after all, and not paying enough might I add." She chuckled as she walked off, making everyone groan in protest, but they knew better than to take their complaints any further than that.

As soon as they were sure that Miya was out of earshot Matsu was the first to speak. "Mina-tan, could you please make it go away?" She asked fearfully, pointing above Minato's head.

Turning around, he saw that the dragon hadn't dissipated yet, and all seven heads were glaring in the direction that Miya had just gone.

"Ummm, you guys can go now." He told them, not really wanting his friends to be scared by something he made anymore, and also not really sure how to make them go away. At first this just made them look at him like he was crazy, but they left anyway. "That was weird." He commented on the weird behavior of the dragon. _'It's almost like it was alive.'_

"Anyway, what were you guys doing here?"

"Ahhhh, we were just worried that she might cut you in half, or some other gruesome fate like that, Minato." Said Kazehana drunkenly, as she wrapped her arms around Minato, causing him to blush with discomfort. "I don't want my man to get hurt by some crazy demon."

"Who are you calling your man?" Tsukiumi asked angrily, grabbing onto Minato's free arm as she did so. "I'm Minato's legal wife, in case you've forgotten!"

"Musubi is a wife too!" I really don't need to tell you who this idiot is, do I?

Kusano, who'd woken up a short while ago, had just walked in on this scene, and began biting Minato's leg.

Matsu was still too scared to move.

And Homura was pretending not to know any of them. (even though no one was around to see them)

_'I guess nothing is really going to change, after all.'_ Concluded Minato, both happy and sad at the same time. Happy because he was used to this routine. Sad because even though he was used to this routine, it didn't make it any less embarrassing.

* * *

"What do you think is going on downstairs?" Asked Chiho as she peered out of the blankets.

"I don't know, but I think that it's over now." Responded Uzume.

"Do you think we should go check it out?"

"No way! Do you want to die? Something that scary could have only been done by Miya, and if she's that mad then just asking about it could be fatal!"

"But we have to get out eventually."

"Good point. But we can't ask anyone anything about what happened, OK? Or else we run the risk of getting killed."

"I think you may be overreacting, Uzume."

"No I'm not! Listen, when Miya gets scary it usually only affects the people in the same room as her. If she's scary enough to be felt even from a floor above her, she has got to be really, really pissed about it, so no asking anything, agreed?"

"If you say so Uzume."

Their minds made up, they went downstairs, and just let the incident slide.

* * *

"Man, we're running low on food back at the apartment again." Sighed Seo, scratching the back of his head absentmindedly as he walked down the street. "Looks like I'm gonna have to mooch some off of Miya again. I just hope Hikari and Hibiki don't catch me with my hand in the cookie jar again, so to speak. It'll also be good to see how the kid's doing. I wonder if he's winged anymore Sekirei since I last saw him."

Bursting into a very loud fit of laughter, he made his way to Izumo Inn.

* * *

"I can't stand that guy!" Yukari shouted to the heavens as she walked down the street. "Not only did that bastard Higa hold me hostage, but he made my Shiina do such horrible things."

"You do know that I'm right beside you, right?" Asked Shiina nervously. "Not to mention that it's already been a few days since we got away from him." He noted._  
_

"I don't care! That guy was a total asshole! I'm glad I gave him a few swift kicks to the balls before we left!"

_'I don't think that you'd call twenty-six kicks a few, Yukari.'_

"Well, all that aside, we should get back to our original goal now, to find-"

"Sekirei No.108, Kusano." Came a voice from the alley they were passing.

"That's right, we have to find..." Yukari stopped as she realized that it wasn't Shiina who had just spoken. "Who said that?"

"Over here little mister and missy. Please, step into my alley." Came the voice again.

Wanting to find out how this person knew about who they were searching for, they decided to do as he asked. When they did, they saw that it was an old man slouching on a wooden crate, one who was sporting some worn-out old clothes, complete with a dirty, patched-up overcoat and hat. He also had a thick beard and sunglasses that covered the parts of his face that the wide brim of his hat didn't already obscure from view.

"I've heard through the grapevine that you two young'uns are looking fer that there Sekirei what can make plants grow like a dust storm in the desert." When he spoke, he sounded like some grizzled old prospector. "It just so happens that I got me some info on her, and I also need me some help with a small favor o' my own. I reckon that we can help each other out in our respective goals. A little 'you scratch my back, I scratch yours' kinda bargain."

Somewhat skeptical about what this man was saying, she decided to press him further on the subject. "Exactly what kind of 'help' do you need, old man?"

"Don't trust me too much, eh? Well that there's some perfectly understandable stuff I reckon, what with all you two kiddies have been through as of late. Kidnapping is such an awful offense, after all."

That only made Yukari even more suspicious. "How do you know about that?"

"I have my sources, young lady, and you'd do best to leave it at that. Now, to answer your earlier question, it's a very small favor, really. I just need you ta call up your ma and have her pass on a message to your pa. I know who he is, and I reckon that you do too, you seem like a pretty sharp girly after all."

"What kind of message?" She asked, not bothering to ask him how he knew of her father. _'He'd probably just say that he has his sources.'_

"Just tell her that every government agency in the good ole' U.S. of A. is well aware of your pa's little satellite scheme_, _and that if he knows what's good for him, he'll back off." He said dangerously. "No more questions. Now, do we have a deal or not?"

Still somewhat suspicious of the man before her, she started dialing her mom's number into the phone in spite of it.

"Are you sure about this?" Shiina whispered to her.

"No, but it's just a phone call, and he said he'd tell us where Ku-chan is. So I'm pretty sure that we don't have anything to lose here." She whispered back as she finished dialing her mom.

The phone rang once, twice, thrice, and then someone picked up. _"Hello Yukari. How are you doing?" _Her mom asked.

"No time to chat right now mom. I need you to give a message to dad."

_"What are you talking about Yukari? You know I don't like talking about that man. Not to mention I haven't seen your dad in years."_

"Cut the crap mom. I already figured out years ago that he's your boss, and that you don't work a pharmaceutical company."

There was a long pause on the other end before, _"You always were a lot sharper than your brother, though that's not saying much. What's this message you have, and it'd better not be some crap about wanting him in the family, trust me, we're better off without him."_

"Ew! There's no way I'd want that weirdo around. Just tell him that the U.S.A. is on to his satellite scheme, and that if he knows what's good for him he'll back off."

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

"I don't know. Just tell him the message." She said, hanging up immediately afterwords.

"Now! You! Old man! Tell us where Ku-chan is!"

"I did say that I would tell you where the little missy was, didn' I? Well, let's just see here." He began as he pulled out a moderately sized file. "According to my sources, she was winged by that there Ashikabi o' da North. Along with; No.01 Miya, No.02 Matsu, No.03 Kazehana, No.06 Homura, No.09 Tsukiumi,"

Yukari and Shiina were shocked. The fact that someone had winged so many single numbers was just crazy. They were said to be much more powerful and troublesome than other Sekirei. So while it surprising that someone had managed to wing so many of them, it wasn't really surprising that this person had become known as the best Ashikabi in the north. They were so shocked at all this, that they almost missed the last part the old man said.

"and No.88 Musubi. The name of their Ashikabi being Sahashi Minato. Is that there name ringing any bells for ya, missy?" He finished happily.

For a few seconds Yukari and Shiina were too stunned to speak. While Shiina looked very happy and relived at this information, Yukari just looked mortified. When they spoke, the words that came out of their mouths in unison were funny to say the least. (or at least in the old man's opinion they were)

"That's wonderful!" - Shiina

"That's horrible!" - Yukari

They just looked at each other funny for a few seconds, while the old man was trying his best to stifle his laughter.

"What do you mean, Yukari? Didn't you say that your brother was a dependable person?"

"I thought he was, but it turns out that my memory was just messed up! My brother's useless, and he always has been!" She said angrily before pointing accusingly at the old man. "And you! Old man! Give me one good reason to believe that someone as useless as my idiot brother could possibly be Ku-chan's Ashikabi, let alone the most powerful Ashikabi in the north!"

The old man didn't say anything. Instead, he simply took a few seconds to sort through his folder before pulling out what looked like a small stack of pictures, and handing them to Yukari, who snatched them out of his hands.

"Let's see here... This is just him with his girlfriend Musubi, that's not weird. And this is him next to the landlady of the inn that he's staying at. And I'm pretty sure that the guy in this one lives at the same inn as him, though he looks a bit different than how I remember him." She wasn't impressed at these photos, as it would be easy to take these and then just lie about these people being his Sekirei. At least until she saw what was next in the stack.

"Hm? Who's this angry looking blond woman holding onto my brother? I've never seen her before. And who's this perverted looking girl in the glasses sneaking up on him? And this one that's dressed like some kind of stripper and holding my brother's face in her boobs?" Her voice was getting more and more panicked with each picture she saw. But the final straw was when she and Shiina got a look at the final picture in the stack.

"That's Ku!" Exclaimed Shiina when he saw the picture.

"It is?" Yukari exclaimed. "But wait a second... She was with my brother the last time I saw him, which means... I've known where Ku was this whole time!" Upon realizing this she dropped to her hands and knees, mortified at not having realized this sooner. "Ku-chan's been with my idiot brother all along, and now my brother's turned into some kind of pervert, winging Sekieri like crazy." She said in hysterics.

"Yukari? Are you alright?"

"Musubi was a Sekirei all along, and he winged her. Ku-chan was with him this whole time, after he winged her. His landlady, the bishonen at the inn, and who knows how many other Sekirei, all winged by my useless, idiot, and now perverted brother. He he, whooo-ho, ding-dong, who's home, hie hie hie..."

The old man was beginning to have a really hard time keeping a straight face.

"Yukari..." Said Shiina as he began to back away slowly.

All of a sudden, Yukari shot up, an evil look on her face. "That bastard. He's gonna have a lot of explaining to do when I get my hands on him. Come on Shiina! We're gonna teach my idiot brother a lesson he'll never forget." She said as she began walking off.

"But Yukari, I don't think-"

"What did I just say Shiina?" She said demonically.

"Never mind." He replied fearfully. _'I was just gonna remind her that the Sekirei Plan is supposed to be a secret, and that her brother probably didn't know that she's an Ashikabi. Also, I don't think that we'd stand a chance if we were to fight against so many single numbers, we did just barely manage to escape from Higa after all.'_

Yukari stormed off in a rush. While Shiina just followed after, uncertain if it was such a good idea to let Yukari visit her brother when she was like this, for both their sakes.

_

* * *

_"Yo ho ho ho! Kids these days are just so much fun to tease!" The old man exclaimed after he was sure they were out of earshot. "Oopsies, I got a little too much into character again, didn' I. Yo ho ho ho!" ? said as he got up, not bothering to drop the fake voice or slouch. "After all, since I reckon that there girly should be in college right about now, that'd technically make her one o' my social peers. Yo ho ho ho! It's times like these where I be mighty glad that there be top quality disguises available on the open market, or in the trash if'n yer that desperate. I gotta admit, my plan is coming along pre-tty nicely, red herrings and all. And because of all the wires I put in Izumo Inn and that damn idiot's office, I can see just how it's all bein' unfolded. Even in the bathrooms, yo ho ho ho." ? chuckled, his nose starting to bleed at the thought. "I'm par-ticularly proud o' da ones dat I put in da M.B.I. showers that are fer the Disciplinary Squad only! Yo ho ho ho ho ho! Those three chickys are ma favorites."

? walked off to parts unknown, monitoring, and typing on, his laptop all the way, walking with an odd gait. And drawing some odd looks from everyone he walked past, especially when he started bursting into laughter for no apparent reason.

* * *

"That's what she said to you?" Asked Minaka, while standing atop a platform. (Napoleon complex if you as me. Did you know that he wears 15cm platform shoes? Because he does. His real height is 175cm.)

"Yeah, so what is this plan of yours that concerns satellites and the U.S.A.?" Asked Takami. "If the government wants to put a stop to it, then it can't be any good."

Minaka just chuckled at this, until he burst out into a boisterous fit of laughter. "I have no idea!" He shouted with a cocky grin on his face, causing Takami to punch him off his platform.

"Don't lie you bastard." She glared at him.

"But this time I'm really not lying." He whined. "But that aside, my little girl knows about me, yet doesn't want me around. Why would she be like that?"

"Because, A) She's my daughter, not yours. And B) She's my daughter, and I hate your guts, so she must have come around that genetically." She said this fully aware that she was somewhat contradicting herself, but not really caring either. "Now what's this satellite plan of yours."

"I already told you. There is no plan."

"If there's no plan, then what was that call about?"

Minaka had to think this over for about three seconds before coming to an answer. "She probably wasn't playing a prank, so that means that someone must have put her up to it. As for why, I'm not really sure, but it's probably part of some larger scheme, one that likely has something to do with Miya's winging." He concluded. "It would seem that I'm not the only one with some big plans concerning M.B.I. and the Sekirei plan, besides the Ashikabi of the East, of course."

"You seem pretty calm about all this." Takami commented nonchalantly.

"Of course I am! No matter the game, I can't be beaten at it!" Boasted Minaka, in an, all too overconfident tone. "But I must admit, it's very fun to see people struggle to fight against me."

_'This man is seriously messed up. I wish I could just quit, but history shows that this lunatic can hold a serious grudge, and with his connections, he could easily make it seriously hard, if not impossible, for me to find work anywhere else in the country. Not to mention he'd probably keep me from even leaving the city.'_

Takami just walked off, leaving Minaka to laugh like an idiot.

_

* * *

_"I wouldn't be so danged confident if I were you Minaka." Said ? after he watched the entire scene play out on his laptop, still acting and dressing like an old prospector. "As hard as it may be ta believe, I've got much better connections and sources den you. Your mad reign is coming to a close crazy man, and I'm gonna be da one ta end it. Yo ho ho ho ho ho!"

* * *

Hope you liked this chapter everyone! Gimme a shout-out if ya liked it! I know I did!

"One more thing!" I can't really comprehend why anyone would ever **willingly** work for anyone and messed up as Minaka, even if they were the father of your children. So I made it so that Takami didn't really have a choice in working for him.

"One more thing!" I know that I'm turning ?, who is supposed to be an evil mastermind, into a pervert, but he's still a man, and I intended for this to be an important part of his personality from the beginning, so if you have a problem with a villain also being a human, then you seriously need to watch more films by Alfred Hitchcock, and Frank Capra. (I highly recommend them)


	4. Chapter 4

Hello everyone! You know how this works so well it's not even funny. I own nothing. If I did, do you really think that I'd be doing fanfics instead of the real deal?

"One more thing!" I just feel that I should remind everyone that updates on this site are not on any fixed schedule, and sometimes you can consider yourselves lucky if someone updates a story once a month, or at all, really. So I don't want to hear anymore complaining about the frequency of my updates. You know who you are!

"One more thing!" I changed the name of the story. Feel free to guess why.

* * *

"Hello everyone." Uzume and Chiho said in unison as they came down the stairs.

"He's my legal husband!"

"Musubi was Minato's first."

"Grrrrrr!"

"Ohhhhhh, Minatoooooo. I feel so horny right nooooow."

"Hu hu hu. It's time for some experiments."

_'I don't know them. I don't know them.'_

(I'll let you figure out who's who on your own.)

The pair just stared at this spectacle for a few seconds before walking off.

"I told you so, Chiho." Whispered Uzume to her Ashikabi. "We don't want to ask them anything about what happened, understand?"

"But they always act like that." Chiho retorted easily.

"Now's not the time for that, Chiho. Now let's go see if Miya needs any help in the kitchen, and remember, no questions about what happened here."

"Alright Uzume." Complied Chiho. _'It's not like whatever scared us is all that important anyway. Just as long as I have Uzume and all my other friends here at Izumo Inn, I'll always be happier than I ever was in that hospital. I'm so glad and thankful that they got me out of there and got me treated. I just wish that I could return the favor somehow, but until I can find a way to do that, I'll just have to settle for doing whatever I can to help out around the inn.'_

Just as they reached the kitchen they heard the door open and someone entering.

"Hello again food, I mean Izumo Inn!" Seo laughed as he just let himself in, not bothering to close the door after he entered.

"Seo?" Said Minato as he walked by after getting away from his Sekirei for a few moments. (If you don't know how he managed it, you clearly haven't been paying attention to this story thus far)

"Hey kid! How ya been? Wait right there." Seo said as he walked over. "Hmmm, let's see here." He began as he started to scrutinize Minato. "Is it, the drunken flower and the fire gender bender?"

"What?"

"Your latest Sekirei kid. Those are two of your three new ones, right? I can't really place the third one, but I know that those guys are two of them."

Minato was still a bit confused, until he remembered that Seo could tell when a person's winged a Sekirei and who they are. It was then that he realized that drunken flower must refer to Kazehana, fire gender bender must refer to Homura, and the one he couldn't place must be Miya._ 'He really is good at that isn't he?'_ "Um, yeah, you got those two right Seo."

"Of course I did kiddo, now who's that third one you've got? And don't try to lie to me, because you know that I'll find out soon enough." Seo asked teasingly, slinging his arm over Minato's shoulders playfully as he did so.

"I'd rather not talk about it Seo."_ 'No need to let him know that the third one is Miya. She might not feed me anymore if I let that secret slip. Hell, she might even evict me for all I know.'_

"You know that's not going to work kid, after all both you and all of your Sekirei live here you know. It's only a matter of time before I run into this mystery Sekirei that you seem so intent on hiding from me. What, are you embarrassed about winging this one, or something? Lemme guess, ugly or a guy. No wait, if you winged Homura you must have no qualms about guys, so it must be an ugly one, or at the very least really flat chested, or a huge bitch. I can't think of any other reason for it." He concluded loudly, only to receive a firm whack to the head by a ladle.

"Hello again, **Scum**." Said Miya, her usual mask scaring the shit out of Seo, while Minato was completely unaffected, as was quickly becoming the new norm for him. "I take it that you're here to get more food from this poor landlady again." If there was any extra malice in her words, it completely escaped Seo. Minato however, was fully aware of it, as well as the reason behind her extra aggravation.

_'She must have heard what Seo said about what my newest Sekirei must be like, and she's not very happy about it.' _He realized easily.

"Come on Miya, we go through this routine every time I run out of food. Do you think that for once we could just skip the scare and the lecture and get to the part where you give me food?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course not. If I do you might get the impression that it's okay to mooch off of others for your whole life, never doing any work, never paying your dues, never being anything more than a burden on humanity." She responded, her voice and mask getting more and more intimidating as she listed off his faults.

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'll work on getting some money!" He exclaimed fearfully.

"See that you do." She demanded simply before turning to Minato. "Minato, would you help me get some food for this **scum**?" She asked as she let the mask dissipate, knowing that it would look weird if the **scum** saw that Minato wasn't scared of her when she was trying to be scary. _'No need to make him the least bit suspicious about anything, no matter how much I may hate him, I have to admit that he's a lot smarter than most would give him credit for.'_

"Sure thing Miya, just let me close the-" His statement went unfinished, as at that moment he was suddenly cut off by.

"Minato!" Came a shout from just outside of Minato's field of vision.

"Huh?" Was all he managed to say as he turned to the source of the noise, before he was hit in the face by someone's boot and fell to the floor. "What the hell?" He exclaimed.

"You perverted, useless, idiot brother!" Shouted Yukari as she grabbed him forcefully by his collar.

"Yukari! What are you doing here!" Exclaimed Minato.

"Pounding some sense into you, that's what! What's wrong with you!"

"I'm the one who should be asking you that! Why did you kick me in the face just now?" Everyone else at the inn had seen fit to come to see what the commotion was about at that exact moment

"As if you don't know you pervert! Musubi, Ku-chan, an angry blond, a perverted glasses girl, a stripper, a bishonen, and even your landlady! Why the hell did you wing all of these people?" She exclaimed, much to the shock of everyone present.

"You winged Miya!" Seo, Uzume, and Chiho all exclaimed in unison, Chiho was especially surprised, as she had no idea that Miya was a Sekirei.

"How do you know about that? No, before that, how do you even know about the Sekirei Plan?" Minato asked as his dragon appeared behind him, looking madder than it ever had before. You could tell because each head was breathing something freaky. The furry head was breathing a pink energy beam. The plant head was spreading a massive number of seeds. The metal head was breathing what looked like binary code. The fish head was spewing a torrent of water. The feathered head was blowing a sakura filled gale. The fire head was obviously breathing fire. And the demon head was just staring at her, somehow filling her with more fear than any of the other heads. Obviously, none of these breaths were real, but that didn't do anything to lessen the fear factor they held. His Sekirei were already beginning to get accustomed to it, though the bizarre breaths were new to them, the others however...

Uzume and Chiho held each other in fear, finally realizing what it was that must have scared them so much earlier.

Shiina, who'd been hiding a little behind Yukari, immediately ran outside, using the wall as a shield from the terror.

Seo had seen fit to scream like a little girl, have a heart attack, soil his pants, and for some reason get a nosebleed. (I don't know why the hell he got it either, so don't bother asking. I mean, I'm the writer, so it's already weird enough as it is that even **I** don't know. None of the usual conditions apply here. It's just plain baffling.)

And Yukari could only step back in shock, allowing her brother to stand up, pure terror grasping at every fiber of her 18 year old being.

_'This isn't right!' _Yukari panicked._ 'I'm the Demon Ashikabi! I'm supposed to be the one who instills fear in others, not the other way around! Especially when it comes to someone as useless as my brother!'_ "I-I-I..." She stuttered.

"We know you're in there!" Came a sudden shout, causing Minato to lose his focus and the dragon to dissipate. All of a sudden Hikari and Hibiki came running into the inn.

"Stop being such a burden to others, you lazy bum!" Shouted Hikari as she struck her Ashikabi with her lighting, causing him to scream out in pain as his heart restarted.

"Wha-, who, why?" Stuttered out Seo, before he saw his Sekirei. "Mommy!" He cried as he grabbed onto Hikari.

"What the hell!" She yelped when he got her in his grip.

"It was so scary mommy! The demon-winging dragon appeared and made me see a bright light that just kept getting closer and closer, and it was so scary, and it made me wet myself, and mommy please hold me! Waaahh ha ha ha ha ha!" He cried fearfully, letting loose twin waterfalls of tears, obviously forgetting that he was a fully grown man and that Hikari is** not** his mommy.

Hikari wasn't really sure what to do in this situation. Her Ashikabi was crying into her chest, calling her mommy, and he seemed really shook up about something. _'What the hell does he mean by demon-winging dragon? And what was that about a bright light, was he dying just then?' _Just the idea was terrifying. She may not be too fond of the lazy bum, but he was still her Ashikabi, and she knew what would happen to her and her sister if he died. _'And that part about wetting him-self...'_ Her train of thought skidded to a halt at that.

"You what!" She yelled, panicked and furious, as she tried to get him off of herself. "Ewwww! Get off of me! I don't want you grabbing onto me under normal circumstances, let alone after you've just wet yourself!"

"Huh?" Said Seo as he loosened his grip on Hikari. "What was I... Uhhhhh..." He trailed off as he realized what he'd just said, not to mention that his pants were indeed wet. "Say kid," He began extremely cautiously, "you wouldn't happen to have any extra clothes that I could borrow, would you?"

"Ummm, sure." Minato replied, after all, he did feel a bit guilty that it was his fault that Seo wet himself, and if he heard correctly, nearly died as well. "My room is-"

"I can find it! No need to trouble yourself at all on my account! After all, I'm just a useless bum, who is definitely going to find a better job after this!" He said as he rushed upstairs, wanting to get as far from Minato as possible right now. _'Yeah right. After all that I've done that went against M.B.I. and the Sekirei Plan it'd be impossible to find any work where I'm not self-employed. The friction between me and that bastard Minaka is the whole reason that I have so much trouble finding employment of any kind in the first place.'

* * *

_"Uh, Onii-san?" Yukari spoke up slowly, not wanting her brother to do, whatever it was that he just did again.

"Onii-san?" Wondered Tsukiumi aloud.

"Oh, Yukari! It's so good to see you again!" Cheered Musubi excitedly as she ran over to Yukari.

"Musubi, you know who this girl is?"

"Mm-hm, she's Minato's little sister."

"She's what?" Exclaimed Tsukiumi. "Um, it's-It's good to m-meet you sister-in-law. I-I'm Minato's l-legal wife." She stammered out.

"Huh?" Startled Yukari.

"Wait a second..." Musubi hummed as she thought this new information over. "Musubi gets it! Musubi is Yukari's sister-in-law too!" She exclaimed as she gave the girl a big bear hug (no pun intended, no, wait, actually it was intended).

"Eh?" Went Minato, Yukari, and Tsukiumi, before Tsukiumi began arguing with Musubi.

Having had enough of this ridiculousness, Homura decided to step-in. "Never mind them, Yukari was it? They just get like this sometimes. Well, actually they get like this quite a lot." He noticed that she was looking at him very oddly. "Anyway, since you know about the Sekirei Plan, I can only assume that you're a part of it as well." He concluded.

"You what?" Minato exclaimed as he whipped his head back to his sister.

"Um, well, Shiina, save me!" She panicked, not knowing what to do in this situation.

"What is it Yukari?" Shiina shouted as he ran in, in spite of his fear.

"Shiina Onii-chan?" Asked Kusano tentatively.

"Ku!"

"Onii-chan!"

Ignoring everything else going on around them, they ran over to each other and each wrapped the other in their embrace, with everyone else just staring at the sudden outburst of affection in confusion.

"What the?" Wondered Minato aloud. "Wait a second, Shiina Onii-chan?" Minato remembered something that Kusano had said a few months ago after Yukari's last visit.

* * *

**Flashback**

"Shi-chan was... Ku's Onii-chan. We got along really well. Kusano is No.108, Shiina is No.107. "Their powers are opposites, but they get along well in personality." Said Takami."

**End Flashback**

_

* * *

_

_'So this is Ku's Onii-san. Since he's here, that would mean that he's Yukari's Sekirei.'_ Minato concluded happily. "Thanks for bringing him here Yukari."

"Uhhh, you're welcome." She replied nervously, still recovering from the scare.

"But just because you're an Ashikabi, it still doesn't explain how you knew she was here, or that I'm one too." He reasoned

"Oh, that, well as hard as it is to believe, some old guy in an ally told me where Ku was, and all about you too." She explained frantically.

"Some old guy in an ally?" Intervened Matsu. "But how could someone like that possibly know something so confidential?"

"I have no idea." Replied Yukari, momentarily ignoring the fact that she'd never meet this girl before. _'If I tell them that I suspect he works for the U.S. government I'd have to tell them why, and I am not going to tell these people about my freaky family tree. That would be **way** too embarrassing.'_

"Umm, Yukari."

"What is it Shiina?"

"Well, you said that this was an inn, right?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah." She replied, getting a bit nervous. _'What's he getting at?'_

"And since your brother is the Ashikabi of the North we know that Ku is safe here, right?"

"Yeah." _'He had me worried for a second there.'_

"But even so, I think that it's better if we all stick together." He finished.

"What?" Exclaimed Yukari and Minato.

"Yay Shi-chan!" Cheered Kusano as she tightened her grip around Shiina.

"I-I think that... getting to know my sister-in-law is a very good idea." Stuttered Tsukiumi.

"Musubi is a sister-in-law too!" I am seriously getting feed up with writing this broad's material. She is such a dumb ass.

"Yay! Love is all around!" Cheered Kazehana drunkenly.

"I wonder what would happen between a male Sekirei and a female Ashikabi." Chuckled Matsu, only to get burned by Homura.

"Ignoring Matsu, I also think that it would be a good idea for you to stay here." Stated Homura in a somewhat agitated tone.

"I suppose everyone does have a point. With how the capital's been lately, it'd probably be safest here. What do you think Yukari?" Asked Minato.

Yukari was speechless. She didn't want to spend a moment longer in her brother's company than she had to. In all honesty, a small part of her had secretly hoped that she could just rescue Ku-chan from some horrible Ashikabi and the three of them could just live together peacefully, or as peacefully as it could get in the Sekirei Plan anyway. But that clearly wasn't going to happen, so what was she going to do now. Fortunately, someone else answered for her.

"Need I remind everyone of just how crowded Izumo Inn is as it is?" Questioned Miya. "Shiina might be able to stay in Minato's room, but what about his poor sister?"

"That's right. After all, I'm sure this inn must be crowded enough as it is without Shiina and I adding to your troubles, right?" Yukari saw her chance and jumped at it. She wasn't about to be forced to live under the same roof as her brother after over a year of living separately from him, he was completely useless after all.

"Yukari can stay with Musubi and Tsukiumi! That way we could all be one big happy family!" Ask a stupid question, someone stupid answers, or something to that effect.

"What!"

"That's actually a pretty good idea." Concurred Tsukiumi. '_It'll give me a good chance to get to know my newly discovered sister-in-law. Musubi's thinki__ng the same thing, no doubt, but the one to get closer to her will definitely be me, just you wait!' _She thought fiercely as she glared at Musubi, who was, not the least bit surprisingly, completely oblivious.

"Well, if there are no objections, I don't see why not." Consented Miya. "The capital certainly has been getting dangerous as of late, so it'd be much safer for you to remain here. However, I hope that you'll be paying a full rent for your stay." She finished, the mask now floating behind her as a clear indication that she would not be taking no for an answer, in any way, whatsoever.

"Why don't I get a say in this?" Yukari whined.

"It's just how things work here, Yukari." Murmured Minato.

"Umm, we're still here you know." Spoke up Hikari. "And could someone please explain what's going on with our useless master?"

"Oh, I just had an encounter with a terrifying monster, that's all." Replied the man in question as he came down the stairs, his soiled clothes slung over his left arm, and his new ones a little too small. "Anyway Miya, about that food..." He dared to ask.

"You'll still be wanting that I take it." She finished for him. "Whatever happened to getting a job?" You all know the pattern by now.

"It's not like I have one right now." Seo responded calmly, in spite of the fact no one else in the room besides Minato was perfectly calm right now. "And by the way Miya, after what I've just seen, that mask of yours isn't the least bit scary anymore. What, did your scary face get magnified through your Ashikabi or something?" He finished, gesturing to Minato as he did so.

"HER WHAT!" Exclaimed Hikari and Hibiki in perfect unison. Following their master's gesture, they saw that it was Minato who he was referring to. "PLEASE DON'T HURT US!" They exclaimed as they quickly bowed their heads to the ground.

_'Do they really think so badly of me?' _Wondered Minato. Just as he was about to voice his complaint however, he was cut off.

"Musubi has the food!" Chimed the girl as she walked in, a large bag of rice underneath each arm. (I can't just kill her off, I can't just kill her off...)

"Thank you! Sumimasen, sumimasen, sumimasen!" Cried out the twins, who took the food, bowed quickly, grabbed their master, and sped out the door in record time.

"That was fast." Kazehana spoke after a brief pause.

"Oh, right! Musubi will show her sister-in-law to her new room!" She said excitedly as she grabbed Yukari by her right arm and began pulling her to the stairs.

"Hang on a second Musubi! She's my sister-in-law! So if anyone's going to show her to her new room, it's going to be me!" Yelled Tsukiumi as she grabbed Yukari by her left arm.

"Wait a second! My stuff is still at my old apartment!" Yukari complained, apparently having resigned herself to the fact that she would now be moving.

* * *

After a few hours of checking-out, packing, moving, and unpacking, most of which were done with Musubi and Tsukiumi's assistance (the former broad is stupid, but if you ever need to lift a truck, or at least something of comparable weight, hope you have her help) Yukari and Shiina were now moved into their new home, much to Shiina's joy and Yukari's dismay.

"This is so great Yukari!" Shiina began after they were done. "We have a new home, and friends and family, both new and old! Not to mention that no one would be crazy enough to attack this place with so many powerful Sekirei here! Everything is going so smoothly for us now!" He looked over to Yukari to see if she was excited as he was, only to see a sad and dejected looking Yukari instead. "Yukari? Are you okay?"

"Why is this happening to me?" She whined as she held a staring contest with the floor, one which, strange as it sounded, she actually seemed to be winning. "I didn't ask to be forced to spend more time around my failure, playboy, idiot, unreliable, and perverted brother. Even worse, my Sekirei doesn't even seem to take notice of my pain." Hearing her say this made Shiina feel more than a bit guilty at not having noticed her discomfort sooner, he was her Sekirei after all.

"Gomen, Yukari. I was just so excited to have the chance to be around such nice people that I guess I didn't really take notice of your discomfort." He explained, trying to make her cheer up at least a little. "And as for your brother, I really don't think that he's any of those things."

"What makes you so sure?" Yukari replied, her tone starting to get sharp. "I've known him a lot longer than you have, and let me tell you something, as long as I've known him he's been a stupid failure, and now I know that he's a perverted playboy because he winged so many Sekirei! You don't even seem to care that Ku-chan belongs to someone like that, and I thought you were supposed to be her brother!" She finished, satisfied that there would definitively be no comeback to that, but oh how wrong she was.

"Ku told me that she's very happy here with your brother and everyone else, and that he's just as nice and dependable as I am." Hearing Shiina say that sent Yukari reeling, but he wasn't even close to done yet. "After hearing that, I got curious as to how reliable the rest of your knowledge on your brother was, so I decided to ask everyone else what they thought about him. Musubi said he was very brave, and always cared about everyone. Matsu said that he flawlessly passed a test that she made from taking entry tests from a prestigious university and even increased the difficulty. Tsukiumi said that his kindness and bravery won her over. Kazehana, well, she said some things that I don't feel very comfortable repeating, but sufficed to say, she does think highly of him. Homura said that even though he's uncomfortable about his Ashikabi being a man, Minato is the best he could ask for. And Miya just said that his dragon is cute and that he needs to pay his rent more often."

"AH-HA! So he doesn't pay his dues! I knew that my brother was just a useless bum!" Yukari exclaimed. (It should be obvious by now, but just in case you couldn't tell, Yukari is pretty much grasping at straws by this point)

"But aside from that their doesn't seem to be anything bad about him."

"Awwwww! What happened to the useless brother that I used to know and scare!" Yukari whined.

_'I think it might be best if I just leave her alone for now.' _Shiina thought nervously as he shuffled out of the room to go get to know his new friends at Izumo Inn._

* * *

_

**Two Hours Ago**

"What the hell was that all about Seo?" Hikari shouted when they got home. "Did that kid seriously wing Miya?"

"I'm just telling you what I heard." He replied.

"But I thought you said that she couldn't be winged." She fumed as she started to put the food away.

"I'm just as surprised as you two are. I don't know if it's true or not, but judging by the monster the kid made, I'm highly inclined to believe it."

"What monster are you talking about?" Questioned Hibiki as she went to help her sister.

"You know how Miya makes a big mask when she gets angry." It was a statement, not a question, however, they still nodded regardless. "Well it was sorta like that, only it was a big dragon, and a hell of a lot scarier. It made Miya look like a fluffy bunny." The twins cringed at the thought of something that could _'make Miya look like a fluffy bunny'_ as their Ashikabi put it. Just as they were about to comment on it however, they heard a knock at the door. Since Hibiki was the only one among them that had a level head at the moment, and because she had the best people skills out of the three of them (though that's not saying much), she was the one to answer it.

"If it's about our rent, we don't have any right now." She began pitifully, not even bothering to look and see who it is. "So if you'll just-"

"Is that any way to talk to someone who has a very profitable business proposal for the three of you?" Voiced the man at the door.

"Did you just say 'very profitable'?" Spoke Seo and Hikari in unison, the mention of money tempting enough to get both of them to stop the little spat that they were having and look over to their all-too-welcome guest.

The man at the door was dressed in a very unusual way, which is to say, he was dressed as Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo as seen in the movie Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem.*

"Uhhhhh." Went all three of them the moment they saw him.

"Please don't mind my strange attire, I simply enjoy dressing up." He explained.

"If you say so." Said Hikari, unsure as the other two were about this guy.

"So, what was that about a lot of money?" Asked Seo eagerly.

"Straight to the point I see." Stated the man simply, as he let himself in and sat down at the table, the colors on the side of his helmet flashing like a rainbow all the while. "Very well!" He exclaimed as he slammed something onto the table, shocking the other three present, the mask on his face now flashing dollar signs down the middle. "This is the amount that I'm willing to pay you for just listening to my request! Should you choose to accept, this amount of money will amount to only 5% of your reward upon successful completion of your mission!"

The three would-be hands-for-hire looked down at the money in shock before Seo quickly flipped through the money and asked. "What exactly is it that you have in mind, my good friend?"

"Yo ho ho ho, That's what I like to hear." Chuckled ? as he prepared to get down to business, his mask now flashing a winking, yellow, smiley face.

* * *

Sorry that this update is so late everyone. But I have school now and won't be able to do very frequent updates. But worry not! For even though I don't update often, I have not forgotten you all! You are my faithful readers, and I would die before I leave a story of mine incomplete! I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates! Oops, sorry, not really, I just got a bit overexcited, that's all.

"One more thing!" If you want to know what the dress style by the * looks like, go to Wikipedia, look up Daft Punk, scroll down until you see the two guys in an animated form, and it should be the one on the right.


	5. Chapter 5

Howdy all! I've been bit by the reading bug, so this is coming out pretty late, or at least I think it will, I write this part first. Anyway! As usual, I own nothing, so please enjoy the shit I make up squid faces.

"One more thing!" I'll be putting up a poll soon to see what people would like me to write next, so please check it out and cast your vote.

* * *

_'Glad I got out of there when I could.'_ Thought a very relieved Shiina, who'd just slipped away from Yukari.

"Now that I have a new, not to mention safe, home, I know that Ku is safe, and that I have a chance to make so many new friends, things are really looking up for me now." Shiina said joyously, ecstatic at the prospect of finally having some peace of mind for a change. "Now, I just need to find someone I can get to know better and this day will be perfect."

It was just then that he noticed Minato coming around the corner with a rather large stack of laundry in his arms that he hadn't got the chance to put away earlier, due in part to the fact that he'd been drugged and forced onto Miya earlier today by ?.

_'Well, he is Yukari's older brother and Ku's Ashikabi, not to mention that he's going to be my roommate from now on, so it only makes sense that I get to know him better.'_ Thought Shiina happily.

"Hello there Minato." He began.

"Oh, hi there Shiina. What are you up to?" Minato asked, peering around the stack of laundry in his arms.

"I was actually hoping that we could spend the day together, getting to know each other better."

"Why's that?" Minato asked confusedly. "Not that I don't want to, but why spend the day with me when there are so many other people here? Yukari and Kusano being two of them." He reminded him of the two main common factors between them.

"Well it's a lot of reasons actually." Shiina began. "For one thing you're Ku's Ashikabi, and you're also Yukari's older brother. You're the Ashikabi of the North, and all of your Sekirei like you. Not to mention that we're going to be roommates from now on, so I thought it would be best to get to know you first." He concluded simply.

Minato couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his long explanation. "Well if you put it that way I don't see how I can refuse. Just let me put everyone's clothes away and then we can do that."

"Okay."

* * *

**The f****o****llowin****g is basically a recap of how Minato winged all of his Sekirei. (with some hilarious added commentary) However, this part is vital to this fanfic, so I highly suggest that you read it.  
**

After Minato had put everyone's clothes away, both he and Shiina agreed that it would be best to get to know each other **away from the inn.** If for no other reason than that there would be nobody to interrupt them in a very annoying, and possibly even erotic manner, as Minato was already unhealthily familiar with.

"So Minato, how did you meet all of your Sekirei?" Asked Shiina.

"That's a pretty long story. Are you sure you wanna hear it?" Minato asked.

"I have time, and you said that Miya isn't letting you have any lunch today, so you have time too." Shiina replied bluntly.

"You have a point there." Minato agreed pitifully. "Where should I start then?"

"How about when you met your first Sekirei?" Shiina offered.

"Good idea. Well let's see here... It all started when I fail the college entry exam, for the second time in a row." He began on a sour note.

"Why did you fail twice? Matsu said that you were smart enough to get into any college you want."

"Well, she did said that my lack of confidence was my only real problem. Anyway, while I was walking through town, I heard a noise coming from above me, I looked up to see what it was and I saw a person falling, and she landed right on top of me."

"That was your first Sekirei, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. It was Musubi, and she was running from Hikari and Hibiki. They're the lightning Sekirei that came by earlier."

"Why were they wearing those weird clothes?"

"A lot of Sekirei wear weird clothes." Minato observed, gesturing to Shiina as he did.

"I don't dress as weird as them, do I?" Shiina asked uncomfortably.

"No, but you get my point. Anyway, Musubi ran away from them, but she accidentally dragged me along too. After apologizing, she passed out, I brought her to my apartment, one thing led to another, and I ended up winging her, or rather, she jumped me and kissed me on her own, and I wound up getting kicked out of my apartment." He finished happily.

"That doesn't sound like something to be happy about."

"I guess it isn't. But because of that I found Izumo Inn. As you've already seen it's a pretty nice place, and I even met two- I mean three of my Sekirei there. So I'm actually pretty glad I moved into it."

"So what happened next?"

"Well, I had to get a job, because my mom cut my allowance in half. I met Seo at my work site, and he told me about what was going on at the botanical gardens."

"That's where Ku was."

"Yeah. Moving on, after Seo and I heard about what was going on, he dragged me to the botanical gardens and he had his Sekirei make a mess of the guards around the area. We took that opportunity to go in and look for her, when we got there we ran into this really mean Sekirei, that I would later find out belonged to the Ashikabi of the South, who was ordered by her Ashikabi to bring Ku-chan to him."

"That's horrible!"

"I know. After seeing that, I knew that I couldn't let Ku be taken by someone who would be so cruel as to treat this all like some ridiculous game, so I was prepared to defend her with my life. Just as I was sure that I would die, Musubi came, beat her up, and saved us both. After that I brought Ku to the inn, and then she took it upon herself to kiss me."

"Did all of your Sekirei come to you?"

Minato mulled this over for a few seconds, before saying. "Most of them. Not long after that, Matsu, who was already living at the inn at the time, even though I wasn't aware of it, started wandering around the place at night. After she scared a few people, tried to, uh, well, seduce me in the bath," He said nervously. "and apparently fired a space laser at Musubi, she came clean, and later that night she more or less forced herself on me."

"You life doesn't sound very pleasant." Shiina observed bluntly.

"You don't know the half of it yet. Later on, I had a weird dream of some girl who wanted to kill me."

"One of your Sekirei." Shiina guessed.

"Not at the time, but she would be. Matsu told me that it was most likely another Sekirei reacting to me, so she looked up what Sekirei hadn't been winged yet."

"She can do that?" Shiina asked incredulously. (I honestly don't know what that word means, but it just seemed to fit here. If it doesn't fit, would someone please tell me what it means so I don't make the same mistake twice)

"Yeah, she can hack pretty much any computer. Anyway, it turned out to be Tsukiumi who was reacting to me, and at the time she really didn't like the idea of being winged."

"So what did you do?"

"Well, I decided to go out and look for her, to try and win her over. I wandered around for a bit before I ran into Seo, who had just found a lost cat that someone had lost, and was offering a reward for."

"He seems like the kind of guy who's always desperate for money."

"That's because he is. We talked for a bit before his Sekirei came along with Tsukiumi chasing after them, apparently they had gotten on her bad side, and she wanted revenge. When she got there she scared off the cat Seo had caught, which made him angry enough to use his Sekirei's Norito on her. He was so angry, he actually tried to wing her as a way of getting some payback, before I stepped in and stopped him of course."

"He doesn't seem like a very nice person."

"Well, he's definitely not the best, but after his Sekirei zapped him for trying to wing Tsukiumi, I couldn't help but feel kinda bad for him."

"His Sekirei don't seem very nice either."

"Agreed. After that, Tsukiumi said that I had to take responsibility, or something like that, by winging her. She thought that my only other Sekirei was Ku, because she was the only one there at the time, and she was fine with that. But when she found out about Musubi and Matsu, well, let's just say I went home soaking wet that day."

"So she uses water then?" Shiina asked.

"Yeah." Minato answered when something caught his eye. "Say, we're at a restaurant, and a cheap one at that. Since Miya isn't going to let me have lunch today, why don't we eat here?" He suggested, not wanting his stomach, or his wallet for that matter, to take much of a dent.

"That sounds good. I'm getting kind of hungry myself, and I really don't want my hunger to distract me from your story."

"Let's go in then."

* * *

**This is where it starts to get really important. So pay attention!**

After they sat down at a table in the corner so that no one would hear them, and ordered their food, Minato and Shiina continued their earlier conversation.

"So who did you wing next Minato?" Asked Shiina eagerly

"That would be Kazehana." Replied Minato.

"The one that Yukari said dresses like a stripper and who smells like alcohol?" Shiina questioned bluntly.

"I guess that you could say that about her." Replied a Minato awkwardly.

"So how did that story go?"

"It's a pretty long one, so I'll try to only include the important details. You see, Musubi ran into a Sekirei and Ashikabi who really wanted to get out of the Sekirei Plan, and since I had so much in common with the Ashikabi I really wanted to help them."

"Get out of the Sekirei Plan? You mean you were one who was behind the escape?"

"You heard about that?"

"I doubt that there's a Sekirei or Ashikabi that hasn't. What you did was really incredible. It's no small wonder you're the Ashikabi of the North." Shiina said in awe.

"Thanks, I guess."

"So what does Kazehana have to do with the escape plan?"

"Well, she helped us out with it. It was really tough, and Tsukiumi didn't really want to help out at first, so when we were crossing the bridge, Musubi had to fight against two members of the Disciplinary Squad by herself."

"What happened? Was anyone hurt? How did you make it out alive?" Shiina asked fearfully.

"Calm down Shiina, I'm getting to that. After a bit of fighting, Tsukiumi showed up to help, apparently Ku convinced to come, at least based on what she told me when I got home, but it was a little too late, as Musubi was a bit too beaten to fight anymore, and one of the Disciplinary Squad dealt her a finishing blow."

"You mean she was..." Shiina trailed of uncomfortably.

"Yeah."

"But then how is she okay now?"

"I really don't understand myself. One minute she's terminated, the next, she's back up, fighting, and for some reason calling herself Sekirei No.08, Yume, the Sekirei of love."

"No.08? But I thought that she was No.88."

"I'm was as confused as you are. In fact, I still don't understand what happened back then, but after the fight she went back to normal and didn't remember a thing. After that, Kazehana showed up, and since the bridge my friends were trying to escape on was destroyed in the fight, Kazehana asked if I wanted to wing her and have her use her power over wind to get them out of there, and I agreed to it." Said Minato, somewhat satisfied with how he told the story so far, and somewhat dreading that he would soon have to explain about his mom. At least until he realized that something Shiina said was off. "Wait a minute. How did you know what number Musubi is?"

"The old man that told Yukari and I where Ku was also told us about what other Sekirei you have, and their numbers."

"How do you think an old man could know so much?" Minato asked, more to himself than Shiina.

"I really don't know. But I suspect that he works for the U.S. government."

"What would make you come to that conclusion?"

"Because he'd agreed to tell us where Ku was, only if Yukari gave her mom a message, to pass onto her dad, about how the U.S.A. was onto his satellite scheme. Not to mention that his entire face was covered by a hat, sunglasses, and a big beard that didn't look very real."

"Our dad?" Minato wondered aloud.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that my mom never said anything about my dad, other than that we were better off without him. Truth be told, I'm not even sure that she's been in contact with him at all since, well, ever. Or at least as far back as I can recall."

"Well apparently she's been in contact with him a lot. Because when Yukari called her, she said that she knew that her father was your mom's boss." Shiina replied, completely unaware of the dangerous revelation he'd brought about.

"Mom's boss..." He trailed off, before he remembered who that would be. _'Wait a second. Mom works really high up in M.B.I. So that should mean that her only superior would be...'_ His thoughts trailed off, as an image he wasn't the least bit happy about worked its way into his head. The image being the very man who started this all. The man who'd caused so much turmoil and strife throughout the capital. The man who Homura wanted to kill above all else.

M.B.I. President, Minaka Hiroto.

_'Wait a second! Wait a second! Wait a second! Wait a second!'_ Panicked Minato. _'If what Yukari said is true, then that would mean that my dad is...' _Minato shook his head to clear out such thoughts until he could ask his sister, or call his mom, in order to confirm his fears.

"Minato? Are you okay?" Asked Shiina nervously.

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm perfectly fine! Never better! Now how about I tell you about how I winged Homura." Minato replied eagerly, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Um, okay?"

"Um, well, let's see..." He began, trying to figure out how to tell the story without mentioning anything about his mother or his trip to the M.B.I. hospital. "Well one night, an e-mail was put out to all Ashikabi about the last, still wingable, Sekirei, which I figured out was Homura."

"I remember Yukari getting that e-mail. So that would mean that you're the one who winged him. But why did you go out of your way to wing him?" Shiina asked, uncertain of what he should think of Minato, now that he knew he had went after a Sekirei, just because he'd heard about them in an e-mail.

"Well he was already living at Izumo Inn at the time, and I'd recently found out, through methods I'd really rather not get into right now, that his body was unstable and that because of that, he could get burned to ashes by his own powers, and that winging him might stabilize him."

"So you went to wing him because he would die if you didn't, and you didn't want him to get winged by some jerk." Shiina concluded happily.

"That's right."

Shiina let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that you didn't do it for any of the wrong reasons. You really are as great as your sister said you were. At least until we escaped from Higa, and she started calling you a lot of things I don't feel comfortable saying."

"Escaped from Higa? You mean the Ashikabi of the East? What do you mean by 'escape'?" Minato asked, concern for his sister evident in his voice.

"Yukari had been forced to go with him one day, and I ended up having to work for him in order to keep her safe."

"That's horrible! I knew that guy was a jerk and couldn't be trusted, but this is a new low, even for him."

"I take it you've met him."

"Unfortunately. I met him in the third round, and Uzume was forced to work for him because her Ashikabi was sick, and she was getting treatment in a hospital that he owns. Now, what were you saying about escaping?"

"Well, he'd tricked me into getting pretty depressed, and if it weren't for what this one Sekirei that was covered in a veil said to me, I'm not sure if I would've even bothered trying to escaped."

"Sekirei with a veil? That must have been Uzume." Minato concluded.

"I figured as much based on your story and what she said to me back then."

"So how did you escape?"

"Well, how does anyone escape? Yukari found me, beat some sense into me, dragged me out, we sneaked past some guards, and beat-up a few others." He said simply, if not a bit embarrassed.

"She beat some sense into you?" Minato questioned quizzically. (saw that word somewhere, really wanted to use it)

"I'd rather not talk about it." Shivered Shiina. "We were almost out when **he **showed up with two of his Sekirei in tow."

"You mean Higa? What happened?"

"Well, you see, that's where it starts to get weird. And not just the normal kind of weird either, I mean **really weird**. The kind of weird that you wouldn't normally come across in your entire life unless you lived in some sort of comedy story." Explained Shiina as the world squiggled into sepia tones.

* * *

**Flashback Time!**

_'This can't be happening!'_ Thought Yukari angrily. _'We've come too close to be stopped now!'_

"Well, well. It would seem that the princess has escaped from her tower." Commented Higa nonchalantly. "And the Grim Reaper as well. Were the accommodations I provided not to your liking?"

"Shut up you bastard! Shiina and I are leaving! I don't care what your plans are, but we don't want any part of them!" Shouted Yukari.

"Now, now, we can't have you two running off, now can we? After all, you're a vital part of my plan, especially since the Ashikabi of the North won't help me without a good reason."

"What the hell does that mean?" Yukari demanded fiercely.

"You'll find out soon enough. Now if you'll just come with me peaceful-"

**"****Triple**** Shinigami Chop!" **Came a voice, as what appeared to be a large, white, square hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere and delivered three chops in quick succession to the heads of Higa and his two Sekirei cronies, knocking them all to the floor. The Sekirei out cold, while Higa was still conscious, but too hurt to think straight or get up. (the reason for this is that he purposely used considerably more force to hit the Sekirei than he did Higa)

"Now, now, we can't have you trying to stop these two from running off, now can we?" When the voice spoke, it sounded playful and somewhat nasal. "After all, they're a vital part of my plan, especially since the Ashikabi of the North won't help me without a good reason." He finished, ironically using almost the exact same words that Higa used not moments ago, a bit of humor and irony that was in no way missed by the speaker. "Yo ho ho ho! How do you like that dosage of irony?" ? laughed out loud.

He was a very unusual looking man to say the least, and was no doubt in some sort of costume. He was extremely tall, and completely covered from head to toe (though his feet resembled more of a point on a pile of broken black glass than anything else) in some sort of jaggedly arranged black robe, and the only real features to the 'person' (if they could even call him that) were two very large, square, white, and flat, four-fingered hands, and a cartoon-like skull mask. (think Shinigami-sama from Soul Eater)

"You two can feel free to leave any time you like, but personally I'd recommend against it for now. Especially since the man who imprisoned you both and caused you so much emotional pain is still conscious and in a **very vulnerable** state." ? recommended mischievously, clapping his hands together, and somehow winking one of the eyes on his mask.

Yukari just stared at him in a daze until she realized what the bizarrely dressed man was getting at, and she grinned maliciously when she did.

"Heh heh heh heh." Chuckled Yukari dangerously. "I like the way you think buddy." And then the world squiggled out of sepia tones as Shiina tried to cover his eyes, but just couldn't help peeking.

**End Flashback Time!

* * *

**"What did she do?" Minato asked, not entirely certain that he wanted to know the answer.

"She kicked him in the balls 26 times, stomped on his back 11 times, stomped on his gut 19 times, and stomped on his chest 7 times." Said Shiina somberly. "After that, the guy in the weird costume gave her a sledgehammer, which she used to break his right arm and left leg. Then he gave her an electric razor, which she used to shave off all of his hair." When he was done, Minato was quaking in his boots, with a fearful look on his face, a fact that Shiina took comfort in, as he now knew that Minato wasn't as viscous as his sister was, even though he could easily be at least 7 times scarier if he wanted to be.

"Sh-she did all th-that?" Minato stuttered out fearfully.

"Yeah, she did."

They shared a long moment (at least three minutes or so) of uneasy silence, until Minato realized something.

"You know, that story sound sort of familiar." He said.

"Really? What about it?"

"The part with the guy in the weird costume." He began as the world squiggled into sepia tones again.

* * *

**Yippee! Another Flashback Time!**

"Ashikabi! If I can take you out, then all those single numbers will!" Cried out Sai as she threw one of her blades at Minato.

"Look out!" Cried Uzume, as she got in the way of the blade.

**"Hold it right there!"** Came a voice as someone stomped on Sai's back, grabbed the rope the blade was on, and gave a fierce pull, stopping it just short of stabbing clear through Uzume.

"Who's there?" Demanded Homura as he whipped out a flame.

"That's not important." Said the man who'd stopped the blade. "What **is** important is that **you** were supposed to be responsible for stopping this one, and you did a pretty poor job of it."

The man before them was an odd one. He was abnormally tall, and covered from head to toe in a bulky, gun-metal colored, suit of armor, that had spikes protruding from his shoulders and knees. Yet for some reason he also wore a long loincloth. (think Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist)

Everyone just stared at the man for a moment, until he threw Sai's own blade into her back.

"AHHHHHH!" She cried out, until the crest on her back disappeared.

"Let that be a lesson to you four. Never turn your back on an opponent until you're sure they're down." He lectured as he painfully yanked the blade out of the girl's back, and casually threw it over his shoulder into the other girl, causing her yell in pain until her mark disappeared as well.

"Uhhh, well thanks, I suppose." Said Minato uneasily.

"Don't mention it. Do onto others as you would have them do onto you, right?" The man said calmly.

"Thank you." Spoke Uzume. "If you hadn't stepped in when you did, that would've hit me for sure. Is there any way I can thank you?"

The armored man mulled this over for a second. "Hmmmm... Well, not right now, but if I ever think of anything, I'll be sure to let you know. I probably won't be in this outfit when I see you next, so all you have to do is remember my laugh, and you'll be fine."

"Your laugh?" Wondered Uzume aloud.

"Yo ho ho ho ho ho!" ? laughed as he ran away into the night, armor clanking all the way.

Everyone just stared befuddled in the direction the man had run off in for a few seconds, dust blowing past them in a wind that seemed to come out of nowhere, until someone spoke-up.

"Well that was definitely one of the weirdest things I've ever seen." Commented Kazehana offhandedly as M.B.I. helicopters closed in, and the world squiggled out of sepia tones again.

**End The Second Flashback of the Day!

* * *

**"So you ran into someone like that too." Commented Shiina.

"Not really. They seem too much alike to be different people." Explained Minato.

"But why would someone do these things?"

"Why would an old man from the U.S. government tell you where Ku was in exchange for delivering a message to my dad?"

"You don't think that old man is connected to this, do you?"

"I don't know. But you said his entire face was covered, and that his beard looked fake, so he was probably in a disguise, just like those other two. Did you hear him laugh?"

"No, but he did seem pretty playful, just like the other two."

Minato took a minute to think these new facts over. These new ideas were a revelation in themselves, and if these three people were really the same person, then that would mean that, based on what Shiina had said about his encounter with the man, that whoever he was, he had some kind of big plans for him and his sister, and since he had no idea what his motives or ultimate goal was, he honestly wasn't sure what he should think about this guy.

"Well, whatever is going on here, I have a feeling that we're going to find out soon enough." Minato sighed wistfully.

"I'm not sure if I like the sound of that." Shiina replied, not wanting to be part of someone's elaborate plan again.

"Me either. But I don't think we have a choice in the matter." He said as he got up to leave. "Let's just go home, and Shiina-"

"Yes?"

"I don't think that telling the others about this is a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to worry them any more than they already have been since I've winged Miya this morning."

"That reminds me. How did you wing her? I thought Homura was the last, still wingable Sekirei when you got to him."

"I'm not really sure." Minato began, as they left the restaurant, he explained all about what already happened to him that day, while leaving out any details about anything related to M.B.I. and his family (except Yukari).

"That's quite the story. Do you think that guy has anything to do with what happened today?"

"At this point I really wouldn't be surprised if he had something to do with me winging all of my Sekirei."

Shiina just nodded in response. "It's hard to believe this walk started out as a nothing more than a way to get to know each other better, and it turned into this."

"I know. But all things considered, I think we got along pretty well today." Minato observed happily.

"I guess your right." Replied Shiina. "You know, even though there are 108 Sekirei, I never really knew any of them besides Ku until I left the M.B.I. building, and most of the ones I met were jerks. But now that I'm living at Izumo Inn, I'm going to make a lot of new friends, aren't I?"

"I hope so." Minato said as they continued their walk home.

* * *

Uzume and Chiho were sitting together on the back porch, just enjoying the company of the other. When all of a sudden...

"Hey! Girls!" Came a stage whisper from a rustling bush.

"What the?" Uzume said as she approached the bush, when suddenly...

Seo popped out of the bush.

"Hey girls. No time to talk. I have a message for Uzume from my employer. And here's the kid's clothes back." He said quickly, as he handed Uzume a manila colored envelope and a plastic bag, and then proceeded to make a hasty retreat over the fence.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Chiho said. "That was weird."

"I know. I wonder what that was all about." Voiced Uzume as she opened the manila envelope, and out slid a tape recorder marked 'play me'.

* * *

Hello everyone! I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter! Especially the parts with the weird outfits. I know I did!

"One more thing!" Because of some of the reviews I got I decided to re-work the story a bit to be more comedy oriented. If you like it, tell your friends. If not, I ask that you still keep reading, as there is still more to this than just comedy.

**"One more thing!"** In the next chapter, ? disguises himself as a nighttime, caped crusader, and Seo gets a sweet new ride and wardrobe, courtesy of his secret employer.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello again! I hope my readers are still paying attention to my work. As usual, I own nothing, and I hope you have a nice day.

"One more thing!" If I'm calling this right, this story should go on for 2-3 more chapters after this one, but I've been wrong before.

**Edit. "One more thing!" I'm sorry about Seo not getting his new stuff in this chapter like I said he would, but I underestimated how much space that would take up, and I really didn't want this chapter to go on for too long.**

**"One more thing!" I'm making a rather decent sized edit to this chapter. Just thought I'd let you know.  
**

* * *

"'Play me'?" Wondered Uzume aloud.

"What is it Uzume?" Asked Chiho.

Uzume showed her the tape recorder, and Chiho just stared at it in confusion. "Why would Seo give this to you?" She asked.

"I don't know. He said it was from his employer, so I'm not sure if he knows either. Not to mention that he's already gone, so we can't exactly ask him."

"So what should we do with it?"

Uzume had to think this over for a while. _'Why would anyone hire someone to send a tape recorder to a Sekirei? Since they seem to know about me, it's most likely someone from the Sekirei Plan, or maybe M.B.I., but Seo has a bad history with them. So why would he ever work for them? On the same note, while Seo can be really insensitive, a pervert, desperate for money, and not to mention somewhat amoral at times, I highly doubt he'd ever work for someone who'd ever try to hurt anyone at Izumo Inn, no matter how much they paid him. Mostly because he's too scared of Miya, well, actually, he's more scared of Minato now than anything else, but even he still has** some** things he'd never do.'_

Deciding that it was probably safe to listen to the contents of the tape, she pressed play.

"Yo ho ho ho! Greetings Uzume!" Came the voice from the tape recorder.

_'That laugh!'_ Uzume realized with a start.

**Flashback!**

_"Thank you. If you hadn't stepped in when you did, that would've hit me for sure. Is there any way I can thank you?"_

_"Hmmmm... Well, not right now, but if I ever think of anything, I'll be sure to let you know. I probably won't be in this outfit when I see you next, so all you have to do is remember my laugh, and you'll be fine."_

_"Your laugh?"_

_"Yo ho ho ho ho ho!"_

**End Flashback!**

"I'll bet that you're surprised to hear from me." The recording continued. "I know that you're probably anxious to repay the favor you owe me, but I want you to hear this alone."

_'Alone?'_ Wondered Uzume suspiciously. _'What does he have to tell me in private that he couldn't tell me around others?'_

"The only other person I would like to hear this message is Chiho, and I'd very much appreciate it if you were to listen to this tape outside. So I'll give you a minute so as to get some time alone with your Ashikabi."

The tape, though still playing, had gone silent, no doubt giving Uzume the time the man thought she might need to get the requested alone time outside with her Ashikabi.

Chiho, who'd been listening to the tape this whole time dared to ask. "Who is this person, Uzume?"

"Someone I owe big time." She responded. "And it looks like he's asking me to repay the favor." She finished, not sure as to weather that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Why do you owe him a favor?"

"Because he-" Uzume began, but was cut off.

"There, I think that's enough time to collect your thoughts, wits, and only the concerned parties about you." The message continued, unhindered by the conversation that Uzume and Chiho were having, as is the nature of machines. "Now, the reason I'm asking for you to return this favor now, is because this is a prime opportunity to do so, as you will see immediately following the completion of my request, and for some time after. The favor that I ask of you is really quite a simple and trivial matter, and should help out everyone at Izumo Inn in the long run. Then you two are free to go about your merry way."

_'I'm still not sure about this.' _Worried Uzume.

"All I ask of you, is to make certain that Minato and Yukari are in the backyard of Izumo Inn after the next match is completed, and until I arrive there."

"That's it?" Uzume wondered, her voice only slightly raised.

"If you are in need of a reason as to why I'd ask this of you, I'd be only more than happy to explain when I get there. But I want you both to rest assured that I have absolutely no intention of bringing about any harm to either of them, nor to any of the other residents of Izumo Inn, nor would I be foolhardy enough to even attempt such a suicidal mission. I may be quite strong by human standards, but Sekirei like yourself are in much higher league than I. I have no goals here other than to ensure the safety of as many innocent people as I possibly can."

"He doesn't seem like he means any harm." Stated Chiho.

"And if you have any worries that either Yukari or yourself might be selected for the next match, and therefore, would not be at Izumo Inn for you to fulfill my request. Worry not! For I have a backup plan for just such an obstacle, should Yukari be selected all you'd need to do in the case of such an event, would be to get Minato to the backyard." The recording explained happily. "And should you be selected for the next match, well then, you needn't worry about my request. I have no delusions that you'd be able to get them out there alone, as I know most of Izumo Inns' residents, and Sekirei in general, to possess the bizarre need to be at the side of their Ashikabi at all hours of the day and night."

"Is he insulting me?" Commented Uzume, not even bothering to comment upon his undeniable knowledge on all things in Izumo Inn.

"You are, of course, free to deny my request. However, should you chose to disregard my pleas, know that I might be forced to cause some minor damages to Izumo Inn for the sake of locating Minato and Yukari. Mostly because the Sekirei residents of the inn wouldn't take kindly to my trespassing. The other reason being that, in spite of the fact that my physical skills are severely lacking in comparison to those of a Sekirei, my wit, speed, and skills at dodging are remarkably superb. Ergo, any attacks directed at myself during my visit would be taken solely by the inn." The recording stated in a 'matter-of-fact' tone.

"Sekirei can be pretty destructive." Face-faulted Uzume.

"The choice is, of course, yours and yours alone to make, and it makes no real difference to me, regardless of which path you chose. I just felt it fair to give you a forewarning, in an effort to make this easier on all of us. Also, I must ask that you keep the contents of this tape a secret from everyone else to whom you are acquainted. Please, enjoy the rest of your day. By the way, in the event you were curious as to why I used a tape to communicate, it's because of the following reasons."

"1) Phone calls and internet communications are far too easy for one to tap."

"2) Paper would leave physical evidence, even if you shredded it."

"3) It's not safe for me to appear in front of you in person just yet."

"4) It's largely because I'm rather fond of the classics, not to mention the cliched, in all senses of the phrase."

"Warning. This message will now be stolen by a giant eagle."

"It will be what now?" Exclaimed Uzume bewildered.

Just then, out of nowhere, a bird that was easily the size of a person swooped down and snatched the tape out of her hands before she had time to react.

"What the hell!" Shouted Uzume in surprise at the enacting of the predetermined theft of the tape.

"An eagle really did steal the tape!" Exclaimed Chiho, just as surprised as Uzume at the extremely bizarre event.

They shared a long moment of silence, too stunned to speak, or even move, because of the highly improbable occurrence that had just taken place. This went on for at least four minutes before Chiho decided that she'd had enough of the overpowering silence.

"He must have placed the eagle nearby, and trained it to snatch the tape away when it heard the end of the recording." She reasoned, though she was still unaware as to where he could have possibly gotten such a big eagle in the first place. "That aside Uzume, what was the favor you owed him?"

Uzume was a bit hesitant to tell her at first, due to the fact that she currently questioned her saviors' actions, but decided that if there was anyone she could tell, it would be Chiho. As she explained, the expression on Chihos' face changed from one of curiosity, to one of shock and concern.

"Uzume, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Questioned Chiho. "You could have been seriously hurt, if not terminated, if he hadn't stepped in when he did."

"I know that, but I didn't think what happened to me then was all that important, not to mention that I didn't want you to worry needlessly." Explained Uzume.

"Of course it's important Uzume!" Scolded Chiho firmly, shocking Uzume at her unusual seriousness. "If you were almost seriously hurt, then I have a right to know about it. I am your Ashikabi after all, if you're in any kind of trouble I want to be there for you." She reasoned, leaving no room for argument.

"Chiho." Uzume said faintly in shock. "Ohhh, it's so nice of you to worry about me." She said in a failing attempt to be cute. "How about a get well kiss for your sweet Sekirei?" She asked as she moved to glomp Chiho with a kissy face.

"Uzume, this is serious." Explained Chiho as she tried to keep Uzume off of her.

"I know. I'm sowwy Chiho." Apologized Uzume, who was still trying to be cute by talking like a child and playfully bopping herself on the head while sticking her tongue out.

"So what are you going to do about his request?"

Uzume had to take a moment to think this over. On the one hand, she did own the man big time, and he seemed perfectly nice when she first met him, not to mention that what he was requesting seemed perfectly reasonable, if not somewhat bizarre. But on the other hand, from her experience working for Higa, she knew better than to trust someone just because she owed them a favor, not to mention the way he contacted her, and the message itself, were both highly suspicious. Just as she was about to respond however, Chiho decided to voice her opinion.

"I think that you should do it."

"WHAT! WHY?" Exclaimed Uzume.

"He saved your life, and his request seems too simple and innocent to possibly cause us, or the others, any harm."

"I know that it seems that way, but sometimes even the most innocent sounding things can actually be super devious."

"But he said that the only difference there would be if you didn't follow his request was that the inn would be damaged, not to mention that he probably isn't dangerous enough to cause any harm to anyone."

Uzume just sighed at this. _'When did my little Chiho get so smart? Was she was like this all along, or has Minato been tutoring her. Either way, she makes a good point, I really have no real proof that he's plotting anything.'_

"Alright Chiho, I'll do as he asked me to, if only because you asked. But when did you get so smart?" Uzume relented and asked.

"Minato's been tutoring me. I have a lot of work to do if I want to make a living someday." She explained.

_'I knew it.'_ Sighed Uzume mentally, before a **very** tempting thought worked its' way into her head. "But since I'm doing this, could you at least give your sweet Sekirei a kiss?" She asked pleadingly.

"Alright Uzume." Sighed Chiho, before giving in to her demands, causing wings of light to appear behind Uzume.

"Thank you Chiho. Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Constantly." Chiho teased her playfully.

* * *

Over the course of the next week not much occurred.

Musubi and Tsukiumi both tried to spend some quality time getting to know Yukari better, with disastrous results. Some examples being. Tsukiumi losing her temper when Yukari and Musubi both groped her, and letting loose a torrent of water that Musubi easily dodged, causing Yukari to take the brunt of the blow. Musubi overfeeding Yukari with massive amounts of curry. Not to forget that one incident with a trashcan, snakes, and a small bowl of chili powder, that left Yukari, Musubi, and Tsukiumi stranded on the three nearest available toilets for a full hour.

Matsu, as she said once before, had taken a curiosity in what would happen between a male Sekirei and a female Human, and tried to use a potent aphrodisiac (don't ask me where the hell she got it, I have no idea and frankly, I don't want to know) to get what she wanted. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, that plan was put to a preemptive end by an incident involving a trashcan, snakes, and a small bowl of chili powder, that left her without any feeling in her legs for three hours.

Kazehana had tried to get some embarrassing secrets about Minato out of Yukari by getting her completely wasted with the stash of alcohol that she'd managed to keep hidden from Miya. However, the secret stash was blown open by an incident involving a trashcan, snakes, and a small bowl of chili powder, and was swiftly put away by Miya in her own alcohol storage, as she refused to allow unauthorized alcohol in her inn.

Homura had pretty much just stayed out of the way and blended into the background like he usually does. With the exception of an incident involving a trashcan, snakes, and a small bowl of chili powder, the end result of which caused him to land, lips first, on Minato in a very compromising position, while dressed in nothing more than boxers and a bra, the latter of which he had to admit (extremely reluctantly) to both himself, and to all the witnesses of this mortifying incident (which was everyone at the inn), was now necessary, due to the recent, not to mention miraculous, 5cm growth of his bust size. A fact that irks him to no end, and also fills Tsukiumi with jealousy (as that's exactly the amount she needs to gain in order to beat Musubi by 2cm and get on even ground with Kazehana).

Kusano managed to stay out of the way while learning to cook from Miya half the time.

? occupied his time by watching everything unfold on his laptop. As well as planning, and later enacting a prank involving a trashcan, snakes, and a small bowl of chili powder, while also breaking the neighbor's wall and shaving their wiener dog just for kicks.

...Okay then, please strike that first comment. A hell of a lot of shit occurred, but I don't have the time to write about it all here, so you people are just gonna have to use your imaginations on this one.

"How the hell do you survive these people Minato?" Was the question she posed to her brother, as the moon was creeping its' way up the horizon.

"You get used to it." He replied nervously, as he and Miya were tutoring Chiho and Shiina, both of whom had recently taken a great interest in school and cooking, and were being tutored in both fields by Minato and Miya respectively. While Minato wasn't exactly sure if his tutoring would help in any way, Matsu reminded him that he was smart, but just lacked confidence. Personally, right now he was just happy that for once in his life since he became an Ashikabi, he wasn't the one who was constantly on the chopping block, except for when Homura fell on him during **_'the incident that no one shall ever speak of again'_**, or just **_'the incident'_** for short. Though he did feel a bit guilty that his Sekirei were causing his sister so much grief.

"Although, Minato is probably able to avoid most of it, now that he has his own way of dealing with people." Miya pointed out, no doubt referring to the dragon that he could conjure up on demand, even though it hadn't seen much use since the day he got it, aside from when **_'the incident'_** occurred and they had to get rid of the police and their neighbors somehow, the end result of which scared the policeman badly enough for him to request a transfer to a desk job (though no one at the inn is aware of this fact).

Strangely enough, Miya and Minato had got along surprisingly well since he winged her, though the reasons for this were simple enough once you knew them. For one thing, she didn't have a creepy obsession with him like some other people they could both mention, though Minato, who didn't want to offend anyone, preferred not to. For another, she wasn't trying to constantly get in bed with him, in one way or another. Most importantly however, was that she wasn't as free with her body as most of his other six Sekirei were, much to the relief of Minato.

"You have a point there Miya. I'm just glad things are going so smoothly now." Said Minato. Too bad for him, he doesn't seem to understand the meaning of the phrase 'the calm before the storm', for if he did, he'd no doubt suspect that there was 'something rotten in Denmark'. Just then, Matsu cane running down the stairs.

"Mian-tan! Look outside!" She exclaimed.

"What! Don't tell me!" As he said this he was already rushing over to the window. When he got there, he immediately saw what he'd been dreading.

The sky had been lit up with a Sekirei crest. The sign of the fourth match of the third stage.

At the same time that he saw it, he also heard a ringing, and immediately checked his cellphone. However, it wasn't what was ringing. It was then that he realized that the ringing was coming from behind him, and he turned around so fast, one would assume that it would give him whiplash. When he saw what was causing the ringing, he feared for the worst.

It was Yukari's cellphone.

* * *

When the helicopters came for Yukari and Shiina, Miya was the first to speak.

"You don't have to go and risk your partnership in this ridiculous contest." She began. "If you don't want to go, none of us will let them take you."

"Thanks for that." Yukari replied. "But it would be more trouble than it's worth, and I don't want anyone to get hurt. Besides," She continued with a demonic grin. "I am known as the Demon Ashikabi, in case you didn't know, and you said that all the really powerful Ashikabi besides Chiho and I have already fought in the third stage, so I should be okay."

As she said this, something happened that no one could quite explain. Some say it was because she'd been spending so much time in the same place as Miya, Minato, or both. Others say it was just because she was growing up, and her mothers' genes were finally kicking in, albeit not in full force yet. Still others say that the full effects of winging Shiina finally came to the surface. They even debated that it could have been any combination of these three factors. Nonetheless, behind Yukari appeared a chibi version of the western Grim Reaper, sans the scythe. Now normally, the personification of a persons' aura would be terrifying to anyone who wasn't insanely powerful, courageous, or just plain crazy. But the appearance of her aura was just too comical to cause any fear, whatsoever. Kazehana and Miya even started giggling at how cute it was.

"What's so funny?" Yukari asked irritatedly.

"Nothing." Replied Miya in a tone that would remind one of a proud mother. "I'm just glad to see you're taking this all seriously."

After the helicopters left and took Yukari and Shiina to the fourth match everyone else at the inn quickly made their way to the computers in Matsus' room.

They didn't have to wait long for the location of the match to be put on screen, which turned out to be an out of the way, M.B.I. owned ship, floating in the harbor, (apparently, they'd learned their lesson from the last match that having Sekirei fighting in a frequently traveled area, even at night, is just begging for trouble) and for Minaka to do his retarded intro, much to Homura's furry and Minato's embarrassment (though the latter was considerably more well hidden than the former). When they saw the contestants arrive, they hoped for the best.

* * *

"Alright, let's see just who they expect us to fight." Said Yukari angrily. M.B.I. had dragged her and Shiina out here, and she was pretty pissed off at the whole thing, so her desire for something to take her rage out on was justified (or at least to her it was).

"Yukari, there's no need to get so angry." Shiina pointed out timidly.

"Yes there is Shiina!" She barked, the Chibi-Gami (that's what I'm gonna call her aura from now on) comically jumping up and down on top of Yukaris' head. Trying, and failing, to look intimidating "I'm mad as all hell right now about what an ass that bastard's being about forcing Sekirei to fight each other, and I wanna take it out on something! And why the hell are you giggling?" She demanded angrily.

"I'm-I'm sorry Yukari, but, pfft, I just, I just can't stop laughing at the, ha ha, thing floating above your head! Ha ha ha ha ha!" Shiina doubled over laughing.

"What thing on my head?" She shouted, Chibi-Gami doing some sort of angry dance.

"The tiny, ha ha, Shinigami, doing a, wa ha ha, crazy dance!" He laughed back.

"What the..!" Yukari exclaimed as she looked up to get a look at this so called 'tiny, dancing, Shinigami', and, low and behold, she saw a tiny skeleton in a robe staring back at her.

"What the hell is this?" She shouted, Chibi-Gami waving his fist at her angrily.

"I think," Shiina paused, trying to catch his breath and get his laughter under control. "I think it might be something like what happens whenever Minato or Miya get angry." He explained.

"What! You mean Miya gets a hanya mask, my stupid brother gets a 7-headed dragon, and I, the only one out of the three of us who actually loves being feared, gets stuck with a pitiful, super-deformed skeleton, who couldn't be scary if its' life depended on it!" Yukari questioned angrily, causing Chibi-Gami to, quite literally, fall to pieces, and, once again, sending Shiina into a laughing fit.

"Stop laughing!" Yukari demanded, trying, and failing, to look tough, due to the fact that she currently had tears streaming down her face. Causing her to look more like a whining child than anything else.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have hear." Came a clearly masculine and taunting voice from the direction of the stern of the ship. "It looks like we've stumbled across the little girl who's caused Higa-sama so much suffering. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, Ashikabi-sama." Came a more feminine voice from the same direction.

"Who's there?" Yukari demanded as she turned to face who was obviously her opponent.

"Who, me?" Replied the man. "I'm just an employee of the man who you so horribly injured a little over a week ago, and he's not too happy about it."

After he said this, a tall and burly man who looked like a red-headed, unkempt, not to mention overweight, truck driver in his mid-thirties, and a plain looking, black haired girl, who was dressed in what looked like black and white striped prisoner clothes, both came out of the mist.

"Oh, and I happen to know for a fact that your other opponent works for Higa-sama too by the way. So why don't you just be a good girl and come back to work for Higa-sama." He taunted cockily. "I'm sure he'll forgive you if come back begging on your hands and knees."

"Like hell I will!" Shouted Yukari angrily, causing Chibi-Gami to pop out again. "You can tell your boss to go to hell, 'cause I'm never going back there again! And will you two stop laughing?"

"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh man! Hey buddy! You just gotta come and see this!" The burly man shouted to the bow of the ship, only for a smokescreen to come from that direction in response.

"Uh, hello?" The man asked, completely baffled at what just happened. At that point, two bodies, a man and a woman, came flying out of the smoke at what was obviously the mans' Sekirei, something square attached to the woman causing a small explosion upon impact.

"What the hell!" The man demanded fiercely.

In response, a voice and silhouette came out of the mist.

**"I am the terror, that flaps in the night."**

"My Sekirei!" The man exclaimed angrily, as he realized that not just his, but also his ally's Sekirei, had both been terminated.

**"I am the humanitarian, who sets free the cadged birds." **The voice continued, unhindered by the man's comment.**  
**

"What the hell?" The man voiced for all present.

**"I am, Darkwing Duck!"** The voice finished, as, low and behold, a bipedal duck in a cool, dark colored, super hero costume jumped out of the mist, and landed a flying kick to the overweight man, knocking him out cold.

As the man, er, duck stood there, everyone else just looked on in silence. Even those watching at Izumo Inn had nothing to say.

**"Well, well, well! Will you look at that?"** Came a voice that everyone was sick of by now. **"I was just about to announce that the rules for this match were a battle-royal, when suddenly all but one of the contestants are out of commission!" **As this was being said, a helicopter lowered out of the sky, a man hanging from a ladder attached to it. That man being, Minaka Hiroto. (it was actually a robot, but none of the contestants knew that)

"It seems that I have to award the prize to the winner by default!" The robot said, holding the prize out for all to see.

Jinki #04.

Just then, Darkwing pulled out from his cape what looked like an almost comically over-sized gun, and fired it at the robot. What happened next was so quick, you'd need a frame-by-frame play to see what happened. Instead of a bullet, it launched what looked like a claw from a prize grabber. The claw snatched the Jinki from the robot, cut the rope ladder, and retracted back to the gun, all in 1.64 seconds. When the robot hit the ground and broke, everyone realized what must have happened.

"He took the Jinki!" Exclaimed Yukari, mostly in shock since she didn't really care about it either way.

**"Give me back my Jinki you thieving duck!" **Came a voice from the docks.

"What now?" Complained Yukari as Shiina and herself looked over the edge of the ship, only to see a jackass both of them hoped to never see again.

"I said, give me back my Jinki you stupid duck!" Demanded (actually whined) Hayato Mikogami a.k.a. The Ashikabi of the South; his 2 main Sekirei flunkies, Mutsu and Akitsu at his sides. "I won it fair and square in the first match, so it's mine!" He seemed completely focused on his task to regain his Jinki that Darkwing (who is actually ? in an impossibly good disguise just in case you're so stupid that you couldn't tell) apparently stole, at least until he noticed Yukari and Shiina on the edge of the boat.

"You again!" The two Ashikabi shouted in unison at each other.

"You bastard! You're the one who tried to force Shiina to become your Sekirei!" Yukari shouted at him, Chibi-Gami hiding behind her head and pointing angrily at him. "Well Shiina's my Sekirei now, so you can't have him! So what the hell are you doing here you insensitive asshole?"

"Asshole?" Mikogami exclaimed, stunned that someone had the nerve to speak to him like that, but he quickly regained his composure. "In case you didn't hear, that duck in the cool outfit stole my Jinki, and I just came after him to get it back, that's all! I have no interest in your Sekirei anymore, other than beating him in revenge when M.B.I. says that I get to fight you!" He explained rudely.

"Why thank you for the compliment." Darkwing said gratefully, flattered that someone appreciated his tastes in fashion. "I always do try to look my best for the crowd, but it's just getting so hard with so many costume changes as of late."

"Your welcome." Mikogami returned. "But I still want my Jinki back! And don't think that I didn't notice you taking the one that she won! Even if you were the one who actually beat her opponents, this contest is for Sekirei and Ashikabi only, and she's the only one who's still standing in this match, so it's hers!" He exclaimed.

"You don't really understand the whole 'hero' thing I'm going for here, do you?" Darkwing asked rhetorically. "Ah well, not like it matters anyway. My ride's here after all." He said, pointing behind Mikogami.

"What ride?" Mikogami demanded, as he and his Sekirei looked in the direction he pointed.

**Big Mistake.**

The moment their backs were turned, Darkwing uttered "Let's get dangerous" and fired his gun at them, only instead of firing a claw like last time, it instead fired a smokescreen at them.

"What the-" Was all that Mikogami had a chance to say, before a quick, well-placed chop to the back of his neck (courtesy of Darkwing) knocked him out cold. His Sekirei had similar sentiments to what was happening, though for different reasons.

"What the hell?" Was all Mutsu managed to cough out through the smoke. _'Must be the smoke. What is this stuff?'_ Were his last coherent thoughts before he passed out.

"Mikogami-sama." Were both the last words, and last thoughts, of Akitsu, before her whole world faded to black as she called his name. (sort of ripped off the name of the third Bleach movie for this line, but the opportunity presented itself, and I just couldn't pass this chance up)

* * *

Hope you liked this chapter, I'm sorry it took so long. And I'm sorry if it seems like I just cut it short, but this kind of stuff happens from time to time.

"One more thing!" I have a few days off from school, so I should be able to get some more writing in this week.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone! I'm sorry that I didn't get Seo his new ride and wardrobe in the last chapter, like I said I would, but the chapter started getting really long, and I didn't want to lose your attention. So he will be appearing very early in this chapter to make up for it. So! Without further ado, I present to you the latest chapter in this story, which has an overly long name!

"One more thing!" To the people who've complained about ?'s habit of dressing-up in any way, I think that it's only fair to remind you that I've already established him as having a habit of dressing-up in weird costumes. So don't complain if you don't like one of his outfits.

"One more thing!" To those of you who've complained about me inserting my own commentary, I think that you should take a look at the genres of story this is. It's half romance, and half humor! So you shouldn't be complaining about random stuff that has no impact on the rest of the story.

"One more thing!" I own nothing!

* * *

**The Location of the Fourth Match**

"What's going on?" Shouted Yukari, not the least bit concerned about the robot that had fallen no more than four meters from her, and had suddenly blown-up.

"I'm not really sure my-SELF!" Shiina exclaimed as he was pulled away mid-sentence.

"Shiina!" Yukari exclaimed immediately, turning to see who had grabbed him. She saw that he was being restrained by two people in white haz-mat suits, so she couldn't see what they looked like. "Who the hell do you think you are? Let Shiina go!"

"Don't worry kid! We're on your side!" One of the two people restraining Shiina spoke as they put something on his face, but the voice was so distorted that she could hardly tell what was said.

"On my side! Like hell you are! Let him go!" Yukari retorted.

"We just needed to get a gas mask on his face." The other one said in an equally distorted voice as they released Shiina, revealing that he did indeed have a gas mask on now. "That gas our employer spread isn't harmful to humans or pretty much anything else, but it has quite an unusual effect on Sekirei like us." They explained.

"Like us?" Yukari asked of them.

"Yeah." They nodded in response. "It's okay, our Ashikabi is a 'friend' of your brother's, though we use the term friend lightly."

"Wait a second..." Spoke Shiina in a slightly muffled voice because of the mask. "You two wouldn't happen to be those weird lighting sisters in S&M clothes, would you?" He asked.

"'Weird'!" Shouted one of them angrily as the other one held her back. "Listen to me, kid! Just because we have different tastes in clothes, and have a total loser for an Ashikabi, doesn't mean we're automatically 'WEIRD'!" She complained.

"Hikari, stop." Said the other one somewhat pitifully. "We're getting paid good money to do this. Remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right." Remembered Hikari calmly as her sister let her go as a loud horn blew. "Come on you two! That horn mean our ride's here!"

"Our ride?" Yukari and Shiina asked in unison.

"That's right. So you two are coming with us." Hikari demanded as they grabbed them both and jumped of the ship.

"Hey, wait a second you bastards!" Exclaimed Yukari. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" She demanded. _'I don't care if they are friends of my brother! No one but Shiina is aloud to carry me around like this! Or at all!'_ She thought angrily.

When they landed, a van with a large 'G' on the side of it pulled-up out of the smoke in front of them, and the lightning sisters quickly piled in the back of it with their unwilling passengers in tow.

"There, we're safe." Sighed Hikari thankfully as she and her sister quickly rid themselves of their haz-mat suits and the van started speeding down the docks.

"Uh, sis, I think you may want to rethink that." Suggested Hibiki.

"Huh, why?" Asked Hikari, prompting Hibiki to point to their sudden passengers. Yukari was looking pretty pissed while Shiina just looked confused, though it was hard to tell since he was still wearing a gas mask. "Oh yeah, them." She sighed.

"You two have ten seconds to explain what the hell you're doing, before I have Shiina beat you up!" Yukari threatened fiercely.

"I believe that's where I come in." Said the driver as he twisted himself so that he was facing his passengers.

It was Seo!

But instead of the typical 'thrown together, somewhat unkempt' look he usually had, he was dressed in a gray fedora and trench coat, brown gloves, and was wearing a blue neck tie of all things to top the look off.

"Keep your eyes on the road, you moron!" Shouted Hikari.

"Ah! Right! Right!" Exclaimed Seo as he quickly turned around again.

At first Yukari was too stunned to speak, but that quickly passed. "Fine then! **You** have ten seconds to tell me what's going on! And what the hell is up with that dumb outfit!" She demanded of Seo.

"'Dumb outfit'?" Seo exclaimed "Haven't you ever heard of Inspector Gadget?" He asked as he started dialing a number on his cell phone.

"No, I haven't! Now explain why you're dragging Shiina and I 'who knows where' in this stupid van!"

"First 'dumb outfit', then 'stupid van'. I swear, this kid has absolutely no respect for the classics." Grumbled Seo under his breath as his phone started ringing. "Come on, come on, pick up kid."

"Get off the phone and explain! NOW!"

"Oh! There you are..." Seo said as someone picked up the phone on the other end, though Yukari had no idea who it was. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you're having a bit of a panic attack here, but don't worry. I've got your sister and her Sekirei right here in my car... Yes 'we're the ones who grabbed them off the boat'... I'm getting paid big money to bring back them to Izumo Inn, that's why... I don't know why anyone would pay me to bring them home. I just know that I got part of that money from this, and the other part from distracting Mikogami long enough for my employer to steal his Jinki... Yes 'I'm being employed by the guy who was dressed up as a duck in a hero costume'. Is that really so weird?... Okay, you make a good point. But don't worry, your sister is safe in my hands. I'm bringing the girl home as we speak... Look, I've gotta go. My boss just gave me the good to go signal to transform the car and your sister seems pretty damn pissed." He wrapped-up and hung-up the phone.

"Transform the car?" Exclaimed Yukari, who either temporarily forgot her demand for an explanation, or was satisfied with what she heard him say on the phone, as Seo gestured for Shiina to move up front.

"Go-Go-Gadgetmobile!" Exclaimed Seo as he shifted the gearshift.

Suddenly, the van stretched, compacted, uncompacted, and bounced, tumbling the unsuspecting occupants in the back of the van around, until it was an awesome police car.

"Damn that 'Daft Punk, Hero Duck' bastard." Grumbled Hikari from the very awkward, not to mention rather erotic position she was in the backseat with Hibiki and Yukari. "He said that the car transforming wouldn't have any effects on the inside. He totally lied." It escaped the notice of herself and everyone else that Seo was now snickering in the front seat.

_'That was too cool!'_ Thought Seo to himself. _'Now I'm really glad I watched Inspector Gadget all the time when I was a kid. This poor kid got stuck with an Ashikabi who's as crazy as Hikari. The least I could do for the poor boy in a situation like this was get him out of the line of fire.'_

"Remind me why we had to do that again." Muttered Hibiki as she managed to dislodge her face from Yukari's chest, and her ass from her sister's face.

"Our employer said it's because we couldn't have anyone tailing us, and that by transforming the car when there were no cameras or other people around that we could completely escape detection." Seo explained.

"And how the hell would he know when no one was watching?" Asked Yukari bitterly as she removed her knee from Hibiki's groin and her hand from Hikari's left breast. She had already gotten the gist of what was going on here, but was still pretty pissed about being stuffed in a van that transformed into a police cruiser, while tossing her like a salad.

"Don't know. Don't care, as long as I get paid." Seo replied jokingly. "Any more questions?"

"Yeah. Why are you and Shiina the only ones safe in the front?" Asked Yukari while glaring at Seo, prompting the twins to follow her lead.

_'Damn! She just had to notice that!'_ Cursed Seo in his head. _'Come on! Think up a lie, and make it a good one!' _It only took him a fraction of a second to think of something good.

"Well, I have to drive, and my employer told me to get the kid in the front." He quickly lied. "No idea why. Although I suspect it has something to do with what just happened." He finished, hoping that it would satisfy them.

"Then why him and not one of us?" Asked Hikari, who was still unsure of weather or not to believe him.

"Again, no clue." Replied Seo as they sped to Izumo Inn, with everyone appearing to buy his quick lie.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

"Who was it Minato?" Asked a curious Kazehana as Minato hung up his cellphone, which he'd been on in front of everyone at the inn.

"It was Seo." Minato replied. "Apparently the guy who stole the the Jinkis from Mikogami and the fourth match hired him to drive Yukari and Shiina back to Izumo Inn after it was over."

"That solves what to do about Yukari and Shiina." Commented Miya. "There's no way 'that scum' would ever do anything to hurt anyone here, since he knows that I would stop feeding him if he did." She continued evenly, in spite of the merciless nature of her words. "But what worries me is why anyone would do all that."

"I'm not sure." Answered Minato. "But he said that he also paid him to distract Mikogami long enough for him to steal his Jinki."

"Who do you think this person could be?" Asked Tsukiumi.

There was a long pause before anyone spoke. "I think I may know who it is." Voiced Minato.

"You do?" Asked Homura, rather curious as to what he may know of this weirdo in a duck costume.

"Yeah. Shiina and I talked for a while and managed to figure something out the first day he was here..." He began as he explained the gist of what they'd come to understand that day, while making sure not to mention anything about his family.

While this was going on, however, Uzume wasn't paying much attention, since she already knew who it was. Rather, she was trying to figure out how to get Minato in the backyard without it looking suspicious, or at the very least **too** suspicious.

_'What if I...? No, that would be way too noticeable. How about if I...? No, that would make it look like I want a three-some. Maybe I could...? No, I'm pretty sure that's illegal.'_ Needless to say, Uzume has a pretty vivid imagination._ 'Come on, think! It's not like I could suddenly ask everyone if they wanted a picnic under the stars and the moon. That would be completely wrong for this situation. How can I make them want to go outside without me asking them and drawing attention to myself.' _She mused as she looked out the window, as if she could find the answer to her question out there. Strange as it may sound though, she actually did find what she was looking for outside the window.

"But if what you said is true Minato, then that may mean that he has the Jinki that Higa stole as well." Said a very worried Homura in response to Minato's explanation.

"Why do you say that?" Asked Minato.

"Think about it. He was at Higa's when he stepped in and saved Yukari and Shiina. That means that he had the opportunity to steal it when Higa wasn't looking and get away easily. Not to mention that since he stole two other Jinkis, they may be part of his plan, or even his ultimate goal for some reason."

"Chiho. Can we go outside for a picnic under the stars?" Uzume asked her Ashikabi.

"What?" Nearly everyone in the room asked.

"It's a full moon out tonight. And a picnic out under the light of a full moon and the stars is always so romantic." She explained.

"Romantic!" Gasped Tsukiumi as she looked out the window and saw the same full moon that Uzume had seen. "Minato!" She voiced firmly as she turned to him.

"Y-yes?" He stuttered out.

"I think that... we should... have a picnic out under the moon as well." She squeezed out through her blushing face.

"What?"

"Yay! I'll bring the sake!" Cheered Kazehana.

"You're not invited!" Exclaimed Tsukiumi.

"I'll make the curry!" Said Musubi happily.

"You're not invited either!" Exclaimed Tsukiumi again.

"Ku can make decorations!" Cheered Kusano.

"Well, you're no competition." Muttered Tsukiumi, earning a glare from Kusano.

"Matsu can't go outside." Whined Matsu.

"Finally! Someone who understands." Sighed Tsukiumi.

"Now I can." Said Matsu as she finished tying a cloth on her head.

"You don't get it!" Guess who.

"Well, it seems that we'll be eating our dinner outside tonight while we wait for the 'scum' to bring Yukari and Shiina home." Said Miya.

"It's pointless." Sighed a suddenly depressed Tsukiumi, knowing that she couldn't go against Miya's ruling.

As everyone went out of the room to prepare for dinner, which would apparently be outside, three final sentences were uttered.

"That was totally random." Muttered Homura.

"Good work Uzume." Chiho whispered to her Sekirei.

"Piece of cake." Uzume whispered back.

* * *

**With ?**

_'What's going on?'_ Thought Mutsu as he slowly regained consciousness._ 'Last I remember someone in a ridiculous looking duck costume fired some kind of gas bomb at the three of us and I passed out.'_ He remembered as he realized that he was now sitting upright on some kind of cushioned surface with a strap across his torso._ 'There must have been something in that gas that made me pass out, but I'm not lying on the hard concrete that the dock is made of. I'm sitting on a chair, and I'm restrained by something, so I'm probably in a vehicle of some kind.'_ He realized as he tried to move, only to realize that he couldn't.

_'What the hell? I can't move! I can't even open my eyes! And my body feels so weak and numb. There must have been more in that gas than just something to make me fall asleep for awhile.' _He realized. _'So, quick review. I was knocked out by some kind of gas fired by a man in a duck costume, I'm strapped to a chair, in a vehicle, most likely a plane based on the sound of the engine, I have no idea where I'm going, I can't move, and my body is too weak and numb to even open my eyes.'_ He quickly summarized his situation. _'I don't think that there's anything that I can do aside from waiting and seeing what happens next.'_ He thought as he grimly resigned himself to whatever fate his captor had in store for him.

_'Where am I? Where's Mikogami-sama?' _Panicked Akitsu the moment she came to. _'Why can't I move? Is Mikogami-sama OK? Is he hurt? I have to get up! I can't fail Mikogami-sama! If I fail, I'll be useless, and I'll be thrown away again! I can't let that happen! I won't be alone again! I have to get up! Why is my body so heavy? I can't be useless! I don't want to be alone again! Mikogami-sama may just be using me, but at least I serve a purpose to him. If I don't have that, I'll have nothing! I don't want nothing! I refuse to have nothing!'_ As she thought this, tears began forming and accumulating in her eyes until they fell. _'I'm useless. I can't even get up, so I'm useless. I'm going to be thrown away again and I won't have anywhere to return to. I'm going to have to go back to just barely staying alive on the streets again. If I'm ever able to get up and survive that is.'_

_'Well this was easy.'_ Thought ? as he set his plane on auto-pilot and began to change._ 'This pay-day is going to be a hell of a lot easier, not to mention more entertaining, than I thought it would be. Now I just have to get these two to the rendezvous point. Seo and his Sekirei are proving to be quite the help in my work. So much so, that I don't even mind letting them keep my old Gadgetmobile MK.1. I have a backup anyway. Not to mention that I ha__ven't even used the old thing since I built my Gadgetmobile MK.2.'_ He thought as he looked happily at the machine in question, which was actually the plane they were flying in at the moment._ 'I'm approaching the rendezvous point. Time to get ready.'_ He realized as he finished changing.

"Go-Go-Gadget-Hovercraft!" He exclaimed as he pressed a button on the dashboard. Causing the wings and tail of the plane to retract into the Gadgetmobile, and a large flotation device and two turbines to take their place, which were somehow allowing the vehicle to hover in midair, right over Izumo Inn.

* * *

**Back With Seo**

"Well, take care you two!" Said Seo as he dropped Shiina and Yukari off at Izumo Inn.

"Thank you for the ride." Replied Shiina.

"Yeah, thanks for nothing." Scoffed Yukari.

"Would it kill you to be polite to the people who just gave you a ride home?" Steamed Hikari.

"Well, all things considered, we should be glad she didn't strangle our Ashikabi." Answered Hibiki, not having to directly remind her sister of what happened to the girls during the ride.

"Point taken."

"Alright you two, I'm gonna have to ask you to go straight to the backyard." Said Seo.

"What? Why?" Asked Yukari.

"I dunno. My employer just said to tell you that."

"You have a weird boss." Yukari deadpanned after a brief pause.

"No arguments there. Well, if we're all good, let's go get paid!" Exclaimed Seo as he sped off.

"Finally, something we can **_all_** agree on." Sighed Hikari.

"Just think sis, 10,000,000 yen for just three tasks over one week! Most people don't even make that much in a year! It's like we've just won the lottery!" Cheered Hibiki.

"I know! We can finally take things easy! No more debt collectors! No more degrading, low pay jobs in embarrassing outfits! No more taking food from Miya! No more landlord pounding down our door for our rent! No more struggling to live from one day to the next! No more worrying about how to pay for our next meal! We'll finally be free of that all!"

"I'm so happy right now sis!"

"Me too!"

By now, Hikari and Hibiki were happily embracing each other in the backseat whilst crying their eyes out. Seo, meanwhile, was somewhat deep in thought about the same thing, but for different reasons. It gnawed away at him until they arrived at their apartment building, and he decided to ask his, still bawling Sekirei about it.

"Don't you two think that it's strange that someone would pay us so much for just those three jobs?" He asked.

"Who cares! He said that our pay is on the coffee table in our apartment! Let's go!" Exclaimed Hikari through her tears.

"Yeah, and besides, he told us most what his plan was, so why worry? It could actually benefit us in the long run." Said Hibiki, a bit more levelheaded than her sister.

"Right! It's not like it has anything to do with us anyway!" Hikari cheered.

"I'm fine with that much, if he was telling the truth at least." Replied Seo as he opened the door to their apartment.

"Do you think that he was lying?" Asked Hibiki as she walked in.

"Who cares! I can see the money on the table!" Exclaimed Hikari as she and Hibiki rushed over to count it.

_'I just hope I don't lose my Sekirei.'_ Thought Seo somberly, as he knew what could happen if all of the Jinki were gathered, and that he'd just helped someone he didn't exactly trust get his hands on two of them.

* * *

**Izumo Inn**

"Picnic, picnic, picnic." Hummed Musubi as she cooked the curry.

"Remember Musubi, try to use 'portion control' with your curry." Reminded Miya as she prepared the rice.

"I've always wanted to eat out under the open sky." Sighed Chiho, who was doing her best to prepare the fish. "But I've been sick for so much of my life, so I've never gotten the chance."

"Well then, I guess it's time for you to catch-up, isn't it?" Asked Uzume as she and Kusano got out the plates and a blanket for the picnic.

"I guess so." She replied.

"This isn't right." Said Tsukiumi tensely as Homura, Kazehana, and herself brought the glasses and utensils outside.

"What's not right Ms. Panties?" Asked Kazehana teasingly.

"Stop calling me that!" Roared Tsukiumi. "It's just that, as Minato's legal wife, I should get to enjoy this moonlight picnic with him **'alone'**. Why do I have to share what's rightfully mine with so many other people, who wouldn't even appreciate him?" She 'reasoned' as the five of them started to get everything outside ready.

Kazehana pretended to think this over, before replying. "Because polygamy is more fun!" She 'reasoned' about as well as Tsukiumi did.

"Do you listen to yourself when you talk!" Exploded Tsukiumi.

"I fade in and out." She replied bluntly.

"Same here!" Chimed in Uzume.

"You two really need to fix that." Deadpanned Homura.

"Just you all wait." Growled Tsukiumi. "I'll be the one Minato acknowledges as his legal wife, and you'll all be lucky if he lets you be concubines!"

"You'll get no competition from me on that one." Said Homura.

"And I already have Chiho." Uzume reminded her.

"I'm fine with concubine." Said Kazehana happily. "It sounds more erotic than wife anyway."

"And concubines can have three-ways or more." Chimed-in Matsu from an upstairs window.

"Shut-up!" Roared Tsukiumi at the two of them.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" Asked Yukari, who'd just come back with Shiina and decided to go to the backyard to see what Seo's request was about.

"Yukari!" Exclaimed Tsukiumi as she rushed over to her. "Are you alright? Did that weirdo do anything to you? He didn't scar you for life, did he?" She asked frantically.

"I'm fine." Replied Yukari, a little annoyed at the many questions and invasion of her personal space. "He wouldn't try anything, especially since Miya would pretty much kill him if he did. What are you anyway, my mother?"

"I'm just worried, that's all. You are my sister-in-law after all, so it's only natural that I'd be concerned." She 'reasoned' once again.

"Alright, fine." She replied, not bothering to bring up the sister-in-law comment, as she'd learned days ago that arguing with this woman on matters of love and marriage was like arguing with a brick wall but less successful. "But what's going on here?"

"We're having a picnic!" Explained Kazehana happily. "But Miya said that we couldn't have any sake." She continued soberly.

"Yukari, Shiina, you're back." Came a relieved voice from behind them.

"Minato!" Exclaimed Kazehana as she latched herself onto him. "We were just talking about you! By the way, could Matsu and I have a three-way with you?" She asked shamelessly.

"What!" Exclaimed Minato and Tsukiumi in unison.

"Minato is my legal husband! You can't have him!" Shouted Tsukiumi angrily as she latched herself onto him as well.

"Grrrrrr." Kusano growled as she bit his leg.

_'Why are so many girls fawning over my brother?'_ Yukari asked herself for the umpteenth time that week, though she had yet to come up with any sufficient answer. Just as she was about to voice her complaint about Minato's love life, however, Kazehana was whacked on the head with a ladle, and Yukari didn't need to guess twice about who it was.

"Need I remind you that I will not tolerate any shameless acts at my inn?" Miya scolded her, while simultaneously frightening everyone present (except Minato of course) with her usual methods.

Gathering up whatever courage and lack of commonsense she had left, Kazehana decided to have some fun. "Come on, Miya, even you've gotta be tired of the single life after all this time. Why don't you just accept and embrace all the love and attention that Minato could give you if you just let him fill that void in your heart?" She was vaguely aware that what she was saying was pretty much the equivalent of her signing her own death warrant, but she was having far too much fun right now to care about that. "You are one of Minato's Sekirei after all, just like almost everyone else at the inn. I'm sure that Minato wouldn't mind keeping you warm at night."

"K-Kazehana!" Minato stuttered, keeping his eyes on Miya, fearing what she might do to her for even suggesting something like that. But to his great surprise, she wasn't saying or doing anything. "Miya? Are you alright?" He asked carefully after awhile, wondering why she wouldn't react to a suggestion like that.

Contrary to what Minato thought, however, Miya did have a reaction, just not on the surface, as she was used to keeping herself in check during almost any unforeseen event. _'It's not like I haven't already thought about that a lot this past week.'_ She thought._ 'It'd be almost impossible not to in a situation like ours. He is, technically, my Ashikabi after all. I always thought that my heart would only ever belong to Takehito, but the very fact that Minato winged me, even though he didn't do it on purpose, is enough to make me start doubting that. Not to mention that Minato is as good to me as Takehito was when he was still alive, and I've come to know him as well as I knew Takehito. I know that he's dead now, and that he would never blame me for moving on, but would **I** really be okay with that? And is that even what I want?'_ She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she barely noticed Minato asking if she was okay, which snapped her out of her trance.

"I'm fine Minato." She replied simply before turning to Kazehana. "And as for you. I don't approve of your cometary on my personal life." She scolded, again in her usual manner.

"I'm so sorry Miya." Kazehana apologized pitifully, though Miya could tell that it was just an act._ 'So you do see Minato that way after all. I knew it all along.'_ She cheered happily in her head._ 'It's really great that she's finally getting over Takehito, I'm so happy for her. Not to mention that this means that she'll be at least a little more lenient on me when I make her angry in the future. Or at least, I hope she'll be.'

* * *

_Alright everyone, it's very late by my clock, I am very tired, so I'm wrapping this up now._  
_


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone! I'm working ahead this time, because I had to cut part of this chapter out of the last one because I didn't want to take up too much time. As usual, I own nothing.

"One more thing!" To my reviewers, I ask that you post more than 'awesome chapter!' or something to that effect. I want a full review, and maybe even some questions in your reviews. I'm trying to be a bit like Eiichiro Oda here and answer any questions my fans may have about the details of my stories. So please provide me with something reply worthy, and maybe even read and reply to my other fic while you're at it.

* * *

After Kazehana's comment on Miya's marital status, everyone managed to get the picnic ready without further incident, with the exception of Matsu, who was still inside, because she wasn't completely satisfied with her disguise yet. (I'll never understand the obsession some women have with fashion, even though her's is somewhat justified)

"Minato! You can rest your head on my lap if you get tired!" Sang Kazehana.

"He will not!" Shouted Tsukiumi at her angrily.

"I don't recall you being my hubby's master." Kazehana teased

"He is my husband." Growled Tsukiumi.

"Musubi is Minato-sama's wife too!" Buzzed-in Musubi.

While the three of them were arguing, Kusano tried to feed Minato, while under their stares.

"Minato. You do know what will happen to you if you eat that? Don't you?" Growled Tsukiumi as she, Musubi, and even Kazehana joined in trying to feed him as well.

"Yes, I know. I can feed myself." He replied weakly.

While the four of them continued their squabble, by each trying to feed Minato, Yukari finally got fed-up with wondering how someone like her useless brother had gotten so many girls, and decided to ask them herself. "Would someone please explain to me how the hell someone like my brother got so many girls?"

"It's very simple Yukari-chan." Kazehana said to her. "Minato's a very skilled man who can please many girls at once." She said, fully aware that her words could be taken in so many wrong ways, and that she'd probably fried Yukari's brain for awhile.

"K-Kazehana!" Exclaimed Minato as Miya whacked her on the head with a ladle.

"I don't allow such vulgar language at my inn, especially during meals." She scolded in typical Miya fashion.

"Ara, ara, Miya. Jealous much?" Kazehana teased, obviously not having given up on getting Miya fully involved in this love... however many sides and corners there are to this relationship now (In all honesty, I've given-up trying to keep track).

"I would never be jealous of the attention that a playboy gives to whoever he pleases." Miya 'joked' in her typical dark sense of humor. Though deep inside, she had to admit that she **did** feel a little left out of the attention Minato gave to his other Sekirei. For some reason, even though she'd gotten plenty of time alone with Minato this past week (mostly when Musubi, Tsukiumi, and Kazehana went out on their, now near daily shopping contests) she was starting to feel like it wasn't enough.

_'I really am growing too close to him for comfort, aren't I?'_ She submitted to herself.

"You're all crazy!" Exclaimed Yukari before Minato had a chance to respond to Miya's 'joke'. "My brother failed his college entrance exams twice! He's totally awkward around women! And he's totally useless when it comes to anything! How could so many women fall for someone like that?" After she exploded, she noticed that it had suddenly gotten dark... well, darker anyway, not to mention the fact that she heard bells coming from above them, so, purely on instinct, she looked up to see if something was blocking the moonlight, and indeed there was.

In the dark, whatever it was wasn't very visible. All she could see of it was that it was completely solid, without any change in shading, so it clearly wasn't a cloud. These factors made it unusual enough to keep your attention on it should you happen to notice it, but not so noticeable that it would immediately draw your eyes to it should you not be looking for it.

"What is that?" Asked Yukari after she determined that it clearly wasn't just a cloud.

All of a sudden, someone jumped out of whatever it was that was in the sky, laughing all the while.

"HO HO HO!" Came a deep and jolly laugh, as someone plummeted toward the ground.

"That laugh!" Exclaimed Minato.

"It must be him." Gasped Homura.

"Why is he laughing when he's on a one-way course to the ground?" Asked Kazehana bluntly. "Not to mention that the laugh is a bit different than before." She pointed out.

But contrary to what everyone present thought, he wasn't gonna go splat on the ground. Instead, he came to a gradual halt, right to the ground. He had on a big red coat, pants, and stocking cap, all with fluffy white trimming, black boots, gloves and belt, he was rather fat, had a big, fluffy white beard, a pair of glasses, and he was carrying a large sack on his back.

"It's Santa Clause!" Exclaimed Musubi and Kusano in unison, both starry-eyed.

"HO HO HO! Merry Christmas!" Santa said, right before he reached into his sack, pulled out two bodies, and threw them at Minato and Yukari, knocking them both to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?" Demanded Tsukiumi angrily as she made a water sword, but stopped short when she and everyone else present noticed a bright light coming from the direction of Minato and Yukari.

"What the hell?" Exclaimed Uzume as she saw what happened, until she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned around to see none other than Santa.

"I believe that this will explain everything." He said as he reached into his sack, handed her a colorfully wrapped box, gave her a quick salute, touched his little finger to his nose, and flew back into his sleigh.

"On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer and Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner and Blitzen!" Exclaimed Santa as he flew away and sleigh bells rung. "Merry Christmas, one and all! HO HO HO!"

* * *

**Minato and Yukari's Perspective**

_'What the hell?'_ Was all that managed to go through their heads before they each felt the weight of a body slam into each of them.

These are the facts:

Mutsu landed on Yukari. Akitsu landed on Minato. Both Sekirei landed on the Ashikabi lips-first. Somehow, in spite of the facts that Mutsu already had an Ashikabi, and that Akitsu was a disused number, and therefore, were both unable to be winged, they were both winged. They both suddenly got back all the feeling in their bodies, and jumped off the two Ashikabi immediately. While Akistu was ecstatic at the prospect of having a real Ashikabi, regardless of how it had happened, Mutsu was very curious about how this had happened, and was visibly upset about it as well.

"I said, what the hell happened?" Mutsu demanded bitterly for the second time, as almost everyone else was still reeling from what had happened. "I already have Mikogami as my Ashikabi. So how could I be winged by this kid?"

"Hey! I have a name you know!" Shouted Yukari angrily.

"And I'm supposed to know your name how?" Replied Mutsu dully. "It never really came up in conversation during our previous encounters." He pointed out.

"It's Yukari! And I'll thank you to remember it!"

"Whatever. Now will someone please tell me-" He began, but was cut off.

"Ashikabi-sama." Sighed Akitsu happily as she embraced a red-faced Minato.

"Hey! Get off of him!" Demanded Tsukiumi angrily.

"Don't look at us. We're just as confused as you are." Explained Kazehana bluntly.

"But then what was-" Mutsu began, but was cut off again.

"I think I may have an answer." Cut in Uzume.

"And what is-" Mutsu. Cut off. You know the drill.

"Mina-tan! What's going-AHHHH! MUTSU!" Matsu exclaimed in fear when she had come to see what the commotion was about and saw who was here. Matsu herself was wearing her usual attire, with the addition of a large kasa that obscured her head and face from view. (a kasa is a type of straw hat, think of what Oars Jr. of One Piece wore on his head, but much smaller)

"Enough of this!" Shouted Yukari, who was completely fed-up with all the insanity going on, as a full-sized, terrifying, Shinigami-like aura, this time complete with scythe, appear behind her. This caused everyone except; Minato, Miya, Mutsu, and Yukari herself to recoil with some degree of fear.

"What the...?" Yukari wondered aloud as she turned around, hoping to see what she thought might be back there. "HA! I'm scary again! This is so great!" She squealed with glee, not really caring why it'd suddenly gotten so big.

"What do you know?" Mutsu asked Uzume, undaunted by Yukari's aura.

"Uh, r-right." Stuttered Uzume as she opened the box. Inside was...

"Two Jinkis!" Exclaimed Uzume as she pulled out said Jinkis from the box. That got everyone's attention.

"That explains what he did with Mikogami's Jinki." Mutsu said as he took the Jinkis from Uzume. "And it looks like he managed to get his hands on the Jinki that Higa stole as well." He observed by the numbers on them. "What else is in there?"

"Well, let's see..." Began Uzume, still somewhat nervous, and somewhat guilty about the hand she had in stealing one of those Jinkis the first time. "It's... a squirrel?" She said as she took said squirrel out of the box.

"A squirrel?" Repeated a baffled Mutsu.

"Would someone please tell Matsu what's going on?" Whined Matsu.

"We're not completely sure our-" One more time, Mutsu!

"Please put me down." Said the squirrel, causing Uzume to drop it in shock, though it somehow landed upright.

"Holiday greetings, to one and all, once again." The squirrel began jokingly. "I have little time to make this recording, as I have many other things to attend to, and not much time until I must deliver this message. To make a long story short, I have made a drug that can make Sekirei who are unwingable for any reason, wingable, and it may sometimes cause small and unusual side-effects in a potential Ashikabi. Most of you have already seen the effects of this drug once before, and have just seen them once again on Mutsu and Akitsu. I'll say this right now, so it doesn't bring up any concerns. There are no negitive side-effects of this drug. I've done extensive tests on it to make sure. I'm also giving you losers two of the Jinkis that I gathered since I only wanted #04 because I really like that number. You guys are starting to bore me, and I'm starting to run out of ideas to mess with you, so I'm going to wrap-up the business I have here, and get on with the rest of my messed-up life."

"From, none of your business."

"P.S. I shut down all the phone lines for the next few days, so that even though Mutsu and Akitsu have new Ashikabi now, a fact that those bastards at M.B.I., no offense to your mother Minato and Yukari, but you have to admit that everyone else at M.B.I. pretty much deserves to rot in hell, are no doubt already aware of, no one will come calling about it, so don't worry about that shit. Don't bother wondering about how I managed to shut them down either. I'm very good, some might even say 'impossibly so' at working with anything electronic. That's all there is to it."

"Warning! To make-up for how anti-climactic this message was, this squirrel will now self-destruct."

The moment the squirrel uttered the last part, it blew-up in a small explosion, and caused the grass to catch fire.

"Tsukiumi! Put it out!" Exclaimed Uzume.

"R-right." Replied Tsukiumi as she complied to the request.

There was a long, and highly awkward pause after that before someone spoke.

"Did I just imagine it, or did that... squirrel... make it sound like he's playing around with us?" Asked Homura bitterly, pausing before and after he said squirrel, for no other reason than the idea that someone would communicate through a robotic squirrel was completely ridiculous.

"You didn't imagine it. He's definitely toying with us, especially since he used a squirrel to communicate with us, and by the sounds of it he's probably almost done with us." Replied Mutsu just as bitterly. "But toying or not, the fact stands that Akitsu and I now have new Ashikabi, and I'm not exactly thrilled with that prospect."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Growled Yukari.

"Do you really want to know?" He asked sourly.

"Yes. If I'm going to be stuck as your Ashikabi, then I at least want to know what your problem with me is." She ranted, but she wasn't done yet. "I mean, my problem with you is obviously that I don't exactly have a good history with you, but that's your fault, so you should have no qualms about it! So I have no idea why you seem to have so much of a problem with me!"

"Besides the obvious reason that you seem to have a short temper?" He began sarcastically as he engaged in a glaring (no, it's not a typo, it really says glaring, not staring) contest with his new Ashikabi. It could have gone on for two seconds, it could have gone on for two hours, no one could really tell, because most of them were far too scared of; the Shinigami behind Yukari, the mask behind Miya, and the dragon behind Minato, which had mysteriously (or maybe not so) grown an eighth head and tail that looked like some sort of intricate ice sculpture of a dragon head and tail in-between the heads and tails of fur and fire. All of which appeared due to all the tension in the air. Thankfully, it all ended when Mutsu broke eye-contact.

"Fine." Mutsu began with a sigh. "If you really must know, it's because I wanted to ensure my own survival in this messed-up Sekirei Plan of Minaka's, and the only way to do that would be to have several other Sekirei as allies under the same Ashikabi." He began to explain. "To that end, I tracked down a potential Ashikabi that had a lot of power and influence that could be used to easily gather up as many other Sekirei as possible, and who would preferably actually want to win in this messed-up game. Mikogami fit the bill perfectly, and I didn't really care that he was just a bratty little boy, who would whine to get what he wanted, so long as he was able to win in this retarded game. My desire for freedom and security was actually the reason I left the Disciplinary Squad in the first place. Truth be told, if I had my choice, I wouldn't even be competing in this ridiculous farce to begin with." When he finished explaining this, he'd suddenly become a much more sympathetic person to them all, Homura and Miya especially, since they also had as much disdain for the Sekirei Plan as he did. Even Yukari had to admit that she felt somewhat bad for him, at least until...

"And now look at where I am. Stuck with an Ashikabi that doesn't even posses 1/3 of the force that Mikogami did, and who obviously has some serious anger management issues." That was probably not the best thing for Mutsu to say.

"You just ** had **to say that, didn't you?" Yukari began angrily. "You just couldn't leave it as it was when I still felt kinda sorry for you, could you? Well let me tell you something you bastard! I'm no happier about this than you are! But we're stuck with each other now, so we might as well get used to it!" She finished, Death making a larger impact for her.

"And exactly how long will that last?" Mutsu retorted. "From what I understand, your only other Sekirei is the boy with decaying powers. While I will admit that it's a useful and powerful ability, that and my swordsmanship and powers over earth won't be enough to last all the way to the end of this game. Not to mention that your brother is also a part of this game, so even if one of you wins, the other will still lose all of their Sekirei. You may even have to fight each other at some point." He pointed out, causing everyone present to suddenly become very somber, all except one.

"That may be true," Musubi began. "But when one of us wins, we can definitely return all Sekirei back to their Ashikabi." She said in the most upbeat tone she could muster, somewhat lifting the spirits of everyone present.

"Don't be ridiculous." Began Mutsu. "Even if one of us did win, and I'm not saying that one of us will win, what makes you think that Minaka would just allow all of the other Sekirei to go back to their Ashikabi?" He said, shooting down most of the hope that had been built up. "I'm being realistic here. In a situation like this, there will be no winners, not even the person who wins this game will be happy. Because if their guilt of depriving so many other people of their happiness doesn't get to them, a former Ashikabi who's jealous of the winner will make some sort of plan for revenge against the winner. If the plan succeeds, one or more of the happy winners winds up dead. If the plan fails, the guilt might get worse, and that still leaves the possibility of future attacks." He pointed out. "That's the main reason why I choose Mikogami to be my Ashikabi in the first place. Because he's a spoiled brat, who doesn't feel remorse for the negative impact on others his actions cause, no matter what."

There was a long silence after that. While most of the people present were already somewhat aware of what he'd said, they hadn't really grasped the full severity of the situation, or rather, they knew, but choose to ignore it. Given how heavy this information was, most weren't really in a mood to talk right now, and those that were didn't have any retort, so they were rather surprised when they heard someone talk, especially considering who it was.

"If we don't want to fight, they don't have the power to make us." Said Akitsu dryly, drawing all eyes to her.

"What are you talking about?" Inquired Mutsu. "They have an army and the Disciplinary Squad on their side. I think that's enough force to make us fight."

"True. But we have many Sekirei on our side, most of which are single numbers and other Sekirei with powerful abilities." Pointed out Akitsu. "Even if they come after us with all they have, the human troops could be easily dealt with, and we've seen those two outmatch two members of the Disciplinary Squad." She said as she gestured to Tsukiumi and Musubi, no doubt referring to what they'd witnessed in the third match.

Hearing this made everyone find hope again, and even caused Mutsu to start doubting his own assessment of the situation... or at least it **was**, until he recalled the main problem that would be involved with this plan.

"I think you're forgetting about one key player in all of this. Karasuba." Mutsu pointed out. "Even if we're able to take care of the army and the other two members of the Disciplinary Squad, we'd still be weak after that, some of us could possibly be terminated by then, and we'd still have to take care of her. We simply don't have the necessary force to-" Mutsu clearly hasn't been cut off enough today, because it's happening again.

"She won't be a problem." Intervened Miya.

Mutsu just stared at Miya for a few seconds as if she'd just grown a second head. "Do you mean to say that you will get involved in this fight?" He asked her. "Last I checked, you'd thrown out your sword and retired from that life."

"That may be so," She conceded. "But I **do **have another sword, I haven't let my skills dull since I left, and I'm not about to allow my Ashikabi and the rest of the people living at my inn to get hurt." It didn't escape her notice that Mutsu's eyes had widened in shock the moment she had said 'my Ashikabi'.

"Your Ashikabi?" Said a reeling Mutsu. "But you can't be..." He trailed off as his gaze moved over to Minato. He just looked at the boy for a few seconds before he understood completely. "I see, so this is what the message was referring to." He concluded.

"Yes. While I was unaware of the involvement this person had in all this up until now, the fact still remains that I've been forced back into this life." Replied Miya. "I may not be entirely happy about the way things turned out, but I still care about all of those who live under my care, and I'm not about to let all that I care about be taken from me again." She finished resolutely. "Now, Musubi."

"Yes Miya." Musubi replied, still starry-eyed at Miya's words.

"Since we now have two more residents, would you please go and fetch tableware for two more?" Miya asked cheerfully, instantly shattering any tension that she'd built-up.

"Right away!" She cheered as she rushed into the house to get the requested items.

Everyone else was occupying their time in their own way.

Kusano was making flowers grow all around them.

Matsu was looking at Mutsu perversely... at least until Yukari shot her one of those 'if looks could kill' glares. (Ha ha, shinigami joke) Hey, she may not really like the guy much, but he was still her Sekirei now, so she wasn't going to let anyone look at him like some pervert, except possibly herself if she thought she could get away with it. She may have a bad history with the guy, but she could still appreciate a fine specimen of male beauty when she saw it. The words _'eye candy'_ popped into her head. (Absolutely, 100%, her words, not mine)

Tsukiumi was holding onto an unsettled Minato, while glaring fiercely at Akitsu, who was doing the same.

Kazehana was just humming happily like she knew a really good secret. (Gee, I wonder what that could be?)

Homura was still trying to process all that had just happened.

Chiho was sitting comfortably in Uzume's lap, and both were discussing how things had turned out because that had listened to ?'s message. Most comments were said very quietly. The ones from Uzume were mostly about how badly things had turned out, and the ones from Chiho were mostly about explaining to Uzume how she was wrong about her negative view on all of this and how it had all turned out for the better.

Shiina, in spite of his bad history with him, had been quick to strike-up a conversation with Mutsu. He felt that since they were both Sekirei under the same Ashikabi, that they should at least try to get along. That, and even though he cared deeply about Yukari, he still had to admit that she could be a handful at times, and he wanted to forewarn him about that and at least try to get to know the guy better. Right after he started talking to him however, he heard a thud, turned around to see what it was, and saw Yukari lying on the ground with a nosebleed (wonder what could have caused that). He quickly rushed over to help her, as did Mutsu, proving to him that, if nothing else, Mutsu at least had some loyalty to his new Ashikabi, and that was good enough for him.

* * *

**M.B.I. Headquarters: Takami  
**

"DAMN IT!" Cursed Takami as she drove off in her car, trying to call Minato for the fifteenth time. She'd been alternating calling him and Yukari for awhile now, and had even rushed over to check what that bastard Minaka was doing in response to this development. 2 Sekirei who shouldn't be wingable, getting winged, and by her own kids no less, was bound to be an ideal opportunity for him to screw around with their lives even further, not to mention piss him off as well, since it was obvious that someone was throwing a huge monkey wrench into his Sekirei Plan. As it turned out, he was having just as much trouble getting through the lines as she was. She highly doubted the line was busy, since there wasn't even a busy signal, there was just nothing, even the internet was down. It was as if someone had completely shut down all the phone lines, but that was impossible. Although, things that she'd thought were impossible seemed to be happening increasingly frequently for some reason, so she really couldn't count out that possibility.

"I'm just glad that Miya would never allow that maniac, or anyone affiliated with him, within a kilometer of her inn." Takami sighed thankfully. "Not to mention that there are way too many powerful Sekirei there for him to even think about sending the army or the Disciplinary Squad."**

* * *

**

**M.B.I. Headquarters: Minaka**

"What the hell is going wrong with my glorious Sekirei Plan?" Growled Minaka to no one in particular as he stormed down the stairs. Someone had seen fit to disable all electronic communication in the building, **and** shut down all of the elevators, while he was in his office on the top floor.

"Yo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho." Chuckled ? as he observed Minaka walking down 'who-knows-how-many' flights of stairs, all from the safety of his laptop.

"Miya getting winged? Suspicious, but Minato has great power as an Ashikabi, so I initially brushed it off as such." Minaka began. "Yukari calling Takami to pass on a message to me from the U.S. government that I know nothing about? Something was obviously up by then. A man in a duck costume stealing Jinkis from the Ashikabi of the South and the Fourth Match? I started getting annoyed. Mutsu and Akitsu getting winged by my own flesh and blood, when it should be impossible on both accounts? This person may actually be a threat to my glorious Sekirei Plan! Being made to walk down 'who-knows-how-many' flights of stairs to get rid of this pest? I'm being deliberately mocked!" After Minaka finished his rant, and while he was still walking down several more flights of stairs, ? burst into boisterous laughter at the ridiculous claim of revenge.

"If that meddling fool thinks that he can interfere in my Sekirei Plan, just wait until I call out the Disciplinary Squad on him!" Growled Minaka.

From an undisclosed location, ? couldn't help but laugh at how stupid Minaka was. "Yo ho ho ho ho ho! Oh no! Not the Disciplinary Squad! Whatever shall I do?" He fake panicked. "Oh, yeah! That's right! I'll just go about my daily business like I always have." He said calmly. "You may think yourself a genius Minaka, but you're just as many steps behind me as you have been since weeks before the first Sekirei was winged. Everything I've done right from the start has just been to throw you off my trail. All the leads you may think you have on me, and even the ones you were too stupid to notice, are nothing more than Red Herrings, designed to both throw you off my trail, and to entertain me. Even if you hired the best detectives in Japan, no, in the whole world, all they would succeed in doing would be to confuse themselves to no end." ? stated bluntly. "And before I leave you Minaka..." ? said as he pressed a button on his keyboard, cutting off all power, even the backup ones, to M.B.I. Headquarters.

"Ow! Ow! Oof! Yeoch! Ouchies! Oh my balls! F*ck!" Screamed Minaka as he fell down a few stairs.

* * *

**Back at Izumo Inn**

"Now, before all of the food gets cold, let's begin our meal." Said Miya.

"Itadakimasu." Everyone said before they began their meals, with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

As he began his meal (for the second time) Minato couldn't help but notice that the scene at the picnic had long since evolved from the scene that used to eat at the table every day when he first moved into Izumo Inn. What had started out as simply 5 people talking over a meal, had since become a great spectacle.

Musubi, Kusano, Tsukiumi, and now Akitsu, in addition to eating their own meals, were all trying to feed him at the same time, and he had to politely turn them all down.

Matsu was staring at him as the moonlight reflected off her glasses menacingly, at least until she realized Minato had noticed her, and she quickly turned away. Obviously still slightly scared since he'd brought out the dragon just minutes earlier.

Kazehana was shaking about, most likely to a tune in her head, and most definitely trying to seduce him with her smooth movements and jiggling assets, which Minato had a **very** tough time not staring at.

Homura was stoic, as always, but Minato could have sworn he saw him glance at him once and then quickly turn away when he had been noticed, and he looked red-faced, but that was just ridiculous, there was no way that could have happened, Ashikabi or not, Homura would never be interested in him.

Yukari was staring at, and drooling over, Shiina and Mutsu, who were having a conversation as they ate, Minato wasn't sure how he felt about his sister showing an interest in 2 men at the same time, but he was definitely **_not_** one to talk, and it was good to see Mutsu adapting so quickly.

Chiho sat in Uzume's lap, and the 2 of them ate together, a fact that Minato was happy about.

And Miya? She just ate peacefully, never once deviating from that simple task. But if you were to ask Miya, you'd get a slightly different story.

_'He's looking over everyone.' _Miya observed without even looking. _'He probably can't believe how life at this simple inn has gotten so grand and lively. Not that what's happening is a bad thing, even though we're overbooked at Izumo Inn now, all of their M.B.I. cards mean that we don't have to worry about food or bills. I hate Minaka for all that he's done, so spending large amounts of his money on a daily basis seems like a good method of revenge for now.'_ For the first time in a long time, Miya had forgotten all the pain she'd suffered in the past, and just lived in the happiness of the moment.

_'What was that?' _She realized with a start._ 'It just lasted for a moment, but I didn't feel any of the sorrow I usually feel over my past. No regret over all the lives I took while in the Disciplinary Squad. No sadness over Takehito's death. No rage at Minaka for all the suffering he'd put me and so many others through. Just pure happiness. It was as if I was just another landlady of just another inn. Just like how it used to be when Takehito was still alive.' _When she realized this she looked up, for just a moment, and her eyes met those of Minato. It was just for a second before she looked back to her food, as if she'd just looked up for no real reason. No one noticed that their eyes had met except each other, but it felt to Miya as if all eyes were suddenly on her.

_'I have to be honest with myself here.'_ She thought. _'Minato's always been a pleasant person to be around, but since he winged me it's become increasingly noticeable.'_ She didn't like where she was going with this. _'I've always loved Takehito. Even now that he's gone, he's still an irreplaceable person to me.'_ A moment of reassurance, but it wouldn't last._ 'But now, even though it's in a slightly different way, Minato has become just as important of a person to me as Takehito was.'_ She was painfully aware of what she was admitting to herself. _'I've fallen for Minato, and fallen hard. I'd just be doing myself a disservice if I didn't try to win him over, but with so many others vying for his affection I just don't think that there's a solution where everyone can be happy. Do I really want my happiness if it's at the cost of others?'_ These problems before her just kept tumbling around in her head. The thoughts were so powerful, she barely noticed what she was eating. This went on for a few minutes, until she decided that the best way of figuring out anything, would be to talk to Minato in private.

"Mina-" Miya began before...

"MINATO! YUKARI!" Came a panicked voice from the back door, prompting everyone to turn to look.

"Takami?" Said all Sekirei present.

"Mom?" Exclaimed Minato and Yukari.

"MOM!" Exclaimed; Uzume, Chiho, Shiina, Akitsu, and Mutsu. All with varying degrees of shock.

Takami was panting slightly and looked like she'd recently seen the devil as she asked. "What. The. Hell. Happened?"

* * *

Hope you all like this chapter! Sorry it took so long. I just wanted this to be the best it could be.

"One more thing!" I have the strangest idea to make a Naruto fic, with Deadpool as a major character in it. Tell me in the reviews if you think it's a good idea. Feel free to do one yourself, but tell me if you do so.

"One more thing!" I don't know why Mutsu is working for Mikogami in the canon storyline (no one but the writer does, really) so I just took an educated guess.


	9. Chapter 9

Hello again! I like writing this story so much, I'm not going to take many breaks for the next few weeks so I can get this all up sooner! As usual, I own nothing.

"One more thing!" This story might get somewhat longer that I first thought, but don't let that keep you from having a good time.

"One more thing!" I'm making another change to the name. Partially because I found out that the 'K' which I thought referred to Seo's given name was actually the initial of his family name, and partially for other reasons which will eventually become clear. This will be the last alteration I make to it.

* * *

"Takami is your mother?" Mutsu asked Yukari in disbelief.

"Yeah, why?" She asked.

"Yukari," Shiina began. "Takami-san is a very important person in M.B.I.. I'm just guessing here, but I think that everyone's just as surprised as Mutsu and I are that she's your mom." He said as began trying to recall something that he was pretty sure was very important.

"Oh, most of use already knew about that." Kazehana brushed it off easily as almost everyone else present just nodded in confirmation.

"Takami." Akitsu began with a trace of malice as she stood up. "M.B.I. broke me. They made me unwingable. You're with M.B.I.. Well I have an Ashikabi now. Get out now. You're not welcome here." She said angrily, making the temperature drop with every sentence and causing everyone to start shivering in the cold... At least until Miya whacked her upside the head with a ladle.

"Akitsu, I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from giving us all a chill and making the food cold." Miya scolded in her usual manner. "Also, need I remind you that this is my inn, ergo, I'm the only one allowed to ban anyone from the premises."

"Oh, sorry." Akitsu replied in as embarrassed of a tone as she could (which wasn't very much so) before she sat back down.

"Why are you here mom?" Asked Minato.

"WHY AM I HERE?" Takami shouted in outrage, shocking most people present at her sudden outburst. "MUTSU ALREADY HAD AN ASHIKABI! AKITSU WAS A DISUSED NUMBER! HOW THE HELL DID YOU TWO WING THEM?" She yelled at them, prompting Miya to whack her on the head with her ladle this time.

"There's no need to shout, we're right here after all." Miya pointed out sternly.

"Eh, right. Sorry about that." Takami apologized sheepishly.

"If you really want to know about what happened, I'll tell you about it inside. There's something I need to discuss with you anyway. In private." She punctuated the last sentence with her mask, letting everyone know that they were not to be interrupted.

"Alright." Takami replied with only a hint of fear as they went inside.

Once they were inside, dinner and conversation resumed.

"I guess it was just too much to ask that no one at M.B.I. would investigate when two unwingable Sekirei were winged and the phone lines went down." Began Homura. "I'm just thankful that it was Takami who came here, instead of the Disciplinary Squad."

"It's not really all that surprising when you think about it." Retorted Mutsu. "Minaka would be killed in an instant if he so much as came within 5km of this place, and not even the Disciplinary Squad would be able to come back from here in one piece. Takami is the most obvious choice." He reasoned. "Though I am surprised that she's your mother." He said to Minato and Yukari.

"It's not really that big of a deal." Yukari brushed it off. "I mean, it's not like I asked to be her kid."

"Yeah," Agreed Minato. "I mean, I was pretty surprised when I found out that she was involved in the Sekirei Plan, but I guess that you just can't help this kind of thing." _'If you could, I probably wouldn't be related to Minaka.'_ He added to himself. "Anyway, I wonder what Miya wanted to talk to mom about."

"Hopefully, she wants to pass on a warning to Minaka to leave us out of the Sekirei Plan from now on, or something like that." Said Uzume scathingly.

"That would be nice, even though he probably wouldn't listen. But I suppose only Miya knows. Now, let's eat!" Cheered Kazehana as she went back to her food. However, she was pretty sure that she knew what it was Miya **really** wanted with Takami. _'Good luck Miya. Getting approval from your mother-in-law is almost impossible, or so I've heard, I still haven't said two words to her since Minato winged me.'

* * *

_**Inside Izumo Inn**

"Alright Miya. What the hell just happened with those two?" Asked Takami as they walked into Miya's room. "I'm guessing it has something to do with your winging, since the circumstance were similar, but that's it."

"You're right about that." Replied Miya as they sat down. "The same person responsible for my winging is also responsible for what has happened here tonight."

"And who might that be?" Asked Takami.

"In all honesty, I have no idea. All I know is that whoever did it used a special drug in both cases, one that makes a Sekirei that is unwingable for some reason, wingable. This shows that whoever it is has great knowledge about both Sekirei and medicine." Miya reasoned. "Also, this person seems to have incredible technology at their disposal, far beyond anything I've ever seen."

"Incredible technology? Like what?"

"From what I've seen and heard, it seem that this person has things like; portable cloaking technology, transforming cars, anti-gravity technology, the kind of things you'd normally see only in science-fiction." Miya replied to a very stunned Takami. "But when I say transforming cars, I mean a car that changes from one model to another. Not the kind that transform into giant robots." She continued jokingly, in an effort to lessen the impact of what she was saying.

It took a few seconds for Takami to shake herself out of her stupor. After which, she still had a lot of things on her mind._ 'Damn it! If Minaka knew about what this person has at their disposal, he'd stop at nothing to obtain it! And if he did, he'd be 10 times worse than a kid in a candy-shop, already on an absolutely massive sugar high, on the biggest sale of the year!' _Just as she was about to voice her concerns however...

"At any rate, I must say that I am rather grateful for what this person is doing." Miya continued.

"Grateful?" Question a suddenly baffled Takami. "Why would you be grateful? This person caused my son to wing you, and now they're overbooking your inn. Why would you be grateful for that?"

"Whoever this person is, they seem to be causing serious problems for Minaka and the Sekirei Plan, and you know that I've never cared for either of them." She pointed out.

Takami couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that. "Yeah. The feeling is mutual. It's nice to finally see someone get under that bastard's skin instead of the other way around for once." It really did feel nice to see Minaka pissed off, especially since whoever this mysterious person was seemed to be making this personal. She could tell that it was since she'd gotten a video of Minaka falling down three flights of stairs on her cell phone attached to a message saying 'This is going on Youtube' just moments after she had gotten into her car. It was especially convincing proof since she was still unable to connect to any other phones at the time.

"Agreed. It still amazes me how different Minato and Yukari are from their father." Miya said gratefully.

"And you have no idea how thankful I am for that." Replied Takami in good humor. "Sleeping with that man may have been huge a mistake in the sense that he won't **ever** leave me alone, but at least I have Minato and Yukari, and that's good enough to make-up for the annoyances." Takami actually felt good about how things were going now. Minaka was royally pissed-off and probably being escorted to the E.R. for the injuries he sustained from falling down the stairs, her kids were probably the safest people on the planet, and right now she was having a nice conversation with an old friend. All-in-all, things were actually looking good for her for the first time in several years.

"True, things have been very lively here ever since they moved in. Though I can't help but worry about Shiina and Mutsu."

"Worried? Why? Is there something wrong with Yukari?" Asked a suddenly very concerned Takami. She instantly assumed Yukari was concerned as Shiina and Mutsu were both her Sekirei.

"There's nothing wrong." Miya quickly replied. "It's just that she seems to be taking after her mother quite a lot, and I'd be lying if I said that I probably didn't have a hand in how she's turning out as well." She admitted.

Takami had to take a good minute to soak this in. "So you're saying that she's becoming as ruthless as I am, and as intimidating as you are?" She asked.

"I wouldn't word it exactly like that, but yes." There was a brief pause before...

"That's a scary thought." Said Takami dryly.

"Yes, I'm glad she's not my Ashikabi."

"Speaking of which, how's being Minato's Sekirei working out for you? I'm guessing it's pretty easy since I've been scaring that kid senseless into being as well-mannered as I could make him ever since he was a kid." Takami said jokingly.

"Yes, Minato has been unfailingly nice to me, even before he winged me. So why would he stop now?" Miya replied.

"Uh, Miya. Did I do something to upset you?" Asked Takami rather nervously.

Miya wondered what she meant by that, until a possibility occurred to her. She turned around to check her theory, and saw her mask, and it looked bigger and scarier than she'd ever seen it. _'Why is it doing that?'_ She wondered, before a very probable answer worked into her head.

"Yes, it seems that you have done something to upset me." She answered as she turned back to Takami. "I don't approve of the parenting methods you used on Minato. Scaring a small child into behaving is not an appropriate method to use." She scolded.

"Why would you care? You scare people all the time, I bet you even scare Minato senseless when you feel like it." Takami retorted.

"Yes, back when Minato first moved-in I would scare him whenever his Sekirei did anything indecent. But I haven't been able to scare him since the day he winged me, and I wouldn't scare him now even if I could." Takami was somewhat taken aback by her words.

"What do you mean by 'you wouldn't scare him even if you could'?" Takami asked nervously. "I can get why he wouldn't be scared of you anymore. But why would you not want to?" Takami could only think of one reason, and she was desperately, desperately, hoping beyond hope, that Miya had some other reason for not wanting to scare Minato that she just couldn't think of.

Miya, in spite of her normal nerves of steel, had to take a moment to gather herself. _'This is it Miya. All or nothing. If you want a chance at this, you have to at least have the courage to tell this woman what you feel for her son.'_ Miya mustered up every shred of courage she had, and in one breath said...

* * *

**Outside - 3 minutes ago  
**

In spite of the recent outburst, everyone quickly returned to their meal until...

"Minato, where are you going?" Asked Tsukiumi after he somehow managed to get away from her.

"I have to go to the bathroom." He answered simply.

"I would wait to do that if I were you." Intervened Matsu fearfully. "Miya made it very clear that no one was allowed inside." She made a good point. No one really wanted to disobey Miya.

"Aw, don't worry about that." Said Kazehana. "Miya would never do anything but scare Minato, and she can't even do that anymore. It's perfectly safe inside, and who knows how long they're going to talk for. Just make sure not to get caught and you'll be fine hubby." She teased. _'Maybe you'll even hear something that you're not supposed to.'_ She added to herself hopefully.

"He's my husband!" Roared Tsukiumi prompting another argument involving Musubi, Tsukiumi, Kazehana, and Akitsu. Minato took this opportunity to slip away into the inn unnoticed.

"Not this again." Sighed Homura.

"I take it that this happens a lot?" Asked Mutsu.

"You have no idea. They get so engrossed in their fights, they probably won't even notice that Minato's gone before he comes back."

"What about you?" Asked Mutsu and Shiina in unison, prompting them to stare at each other for a few seconds before directing their attention back to a now rather nervous Homura.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He got out with only a slight stutter.

"He's your Ashikabi as well." Mutsu pointed out. "You feel a close connection to him too, right? Normally I wouldn't ask a question like this of someone in your position, but looking at those two I can't help but wonder." He said as he glanced over to Uzume and Chiho.

_'Damn those two!'_ Homura cursed them for being how they were at the worst possible time. "Look, Minato may have saved me by winging me, but to me he's my Ashikabi in name only. I'm definitely not interested in him. While I'm willing to participate in this ridiculous Sekirei Plan for now in order to survive, I have no interest in this 'game' aside from killing Minaka the moment the opportunity presents itself." He finished, leaving a satisfied Mutsu, and a slightly nervous Shiina who quickly turned more nervous after he looked like he suddenly realized something.

_'That was close!'_ Thought Homura. _'If I said the wrong thing they might have suspected that I was hiding something... which I'm not!'_ He quickly added. _'I mean, why would I have something to hide? It's not like I like Minato! He's just a friend, and a troublesome one at that! I'm a man after all! I have no interest in other guys! Why the hell am I thinking about this so much anyway? By thinking about it like this it makes it seem like I really do have something to hide... which I don't! After all, who in there right mind would like someone who's so, so... Gah! I can't think of anything bad about him! He's not my type, so stop thinking about him! Gah! Now he's got me talking to myself!'_ Homura realized that if he kept on his current line of thought, he might not like the results, so he quickly took all the anger he had and misdirected it. _'Damn you two!'_ He thought bitterly as he turned his glare toward Uzume and Chiho. _'If you hadn't been so affectionate with each other right now, Mutsu and Shiina wouldn't have asked that question, and I wouldn't be questioning my sexuality right now... WHICH I'M NOT!'_ He quickly amended. He was so engrossed in his rage that he didn't even notice that he had accidentally set his chopsticks on fire until Tsukiumi put them out, drenching Homura in the process.

"Thanks, I needed that."

* * *

**In the inn**

"I wonder what Mom and Miya are talking about." Wondered Minato aloud as he left the bathroom. "Well, since Miya doesn't seem to want to talk to me about it, I'll probably never know." He joked as he made his way back to the backyard.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Came a shout from Miya's room. It was loud enough to be heard from inside the inn, but not loud enough to be heard from outside it, especially through closed doors.

"Was that mom?" Minato ask himself as he found himself, against his better judgment, quietly walking towards the source of the noise, trying to hear what was going on. At first, the sound was much quieter than the first outburst; much too soft for him to hear. But as he got closer, he could begin to make out what was definitely his mom ranting.

"-fully grown woman before he was even born! And what was all that about 'leaving with your one true love'? Where the hell did that go?" He heard his mom rant scathingly. He knew that he shouldn't be listening to this. If he was found out it could spell the end of his life, or at least get him in some serious trouble. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't bring himself to leave and pretend that he'd never heard anything.

"I did say that," He heard Miya say. "And at the time, I meant every word of it, but times change, and I can't deny myself what I want now, or I'd be doing nothing but hurting myself." Minato couldn't help but notice that Miya sounded rather remorseful, yet somehow happy at the same time, if such a thing was possible.

"Miya, working for Minaka, I've had to learn to put up with a lot of shit, but this is just too much for even me to allow." His mom pleaded quietly, prompting Minato to move closer against his will so that he could hear them. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly it was that they were talking about.

"You know as well as I do that Minaka has done far worse things than what I plan to do." Miya retorted.

_''Minaka has done far worse'? What's that all about? What's Miya planning?' _Minato asked himself.

"The only reason you don't approve of this is because of your personal connection to this." Miya continued. Minato heard his mom let out a deep sigh when this was said.

"Okay, that's true, but that doesn't make what you're planning any less wrong or difficult." His mom reasoned. "What do you plan to do? You'll be up against a lot of competition. Weather you win or lose, many others are going to get hurt. Could you live with that?"

_''A lot of competition'? 'Many others are going to get hurt'? What does she mean by that?'_ Minato thought this over for a few seconds until he remembered something. _'Uzume had said that Miya might want to pass on a warning to Minaka. Is that what this is about? Could Miya be saying that if Minaka doesn't back off that she'll attack M.B.I.?'_ Before he had time to contemplate this line of thought further however, Miya began talking again.

"I'm aware of what could happen, and I know that many people would be hurt, regardless if I succeeded or failed." Miya admitted. "However, Kazehana has suggested an idea in the past, that, while radical, could work out well for everyone. I'm not sure how everyone would feel about it, myself included, but it's the only peaceful solution I could find."

_'Kazehana! She's in on this too?'_ Minato thought as he glanced over to his mom. _'What's with mom? She looks like someone just stripped right in front of her... Wait. Why can I see her expression?'_ Minato asked himself before he quickly realized the reason why he could see her. _'I'm standing right in front of the door!'_ He panicked, with nothing more than a sliding door that was slightly ajar between him and something he really shouldn't be hearing. _'How the hell did I get so close to them without even knowing?'_ He asked himself.

"You can't be serious." Pleaded his mother desperately.

"You haven't even heard what she's planning." Retorted Miya.

"I don't have to hear what her plan is in order to know what it is." His mom shot back. "The facts that it's a 'peaceful' solution, and that it was Kazehana's idea are all I need to know. What the hell are you thinking? I can somewhat understand that you... feel the way you do..." His mother said uneasily. "But why the hell would you actually take an idea like that seriously? Not to mention encourage it. Are you trying to send me to an early grave?" This got Minato really worried.

_'Early grave!'_ Minato panicked. _'What the hell was Kazehana's idea? Why would her plan involve something like **that**?'_ Before he could contemplate his line of questioning further however, Miya interrupted his inner musings.

"I'm aware that this plan will cause you some stress." She began. "However, if things are to work out well for everyone, this is the only option. Believe me when I say that if there were any alternative, I would jump at it. There is none though, so if this is how things work out, I won't object."

"What about Yukari?" His mom said in such a bitter tone Minato swore that she was foaming at the mouth. "Do you think that she would like this... **idea**?" It didn't escape Minato's notice that his mom practically choked on the word 'idea'.

"From what I've seen it seems like she would approve of this." Miya said, prompting his mom to stare at her, mouth agape.

"Are you serious? Please tell me you're joking, please." His mom pleaded fearfully.

"I'm very serious, you should see the way she looks at them both." Miya responded, causing Minato to question his original assessment of the situation.

_''Looks at them both'? Who are them?' _He thought. _'After hearing that, I have no idea what's going on.'_ Before he could continue on his current line of thought however...

"Why?" His mom sobbed hysterically. "Why, after all the work I put into raising those 2 did they have to go and get involved in something like this? Why? Why? Why? Why?" His mom was face-down on the table by now.

_'What's gotten into her?'_ Minato asked himself, completely baffled at his mother's behavior.

"Well, if you have no further questions-" Miya began before...

"Wait. I have one last question for you." Interrupted a suddenly sober Takami, drawing all eyes and ears to her. "Why the hell did you fall in love with my son?" She asked.

_'WHAT!'_ Minato exclaimed inwardly as he fell on his ass causing the floor, causing the floorboards to let out a loud thud in protest, a noise that did not escape Miya and Takami's notice.

"Who's there?" Demanded Miya as she threw open the door to see who it was, only to find a very fearful and red-faced Minato.

"Who is it Miya?" Asked Takami as Miya was blocking her view of the eavesdropper.

"Minato." Was both Miya's reply to Takami, and her addressing of the man in question. "How long have you been listening?" She asked in a strict tone, though it was not one that spelled any great danger, much like how a parent would talk to a child who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"I-uhhh, I've b-been listening s-since, uhhh..." Minato, in his fearful state, was having a tough time thinking, let alone forming words. "I, uhh, think that I st-started l-listening at s-something about s-someone being a f-fully grown woman since before s-someone else was b-born." He squeezed through his stuttering teeth. Miya just let out a sigh when he said this.

"It would seem that you heard quite a bit." Miya began sternly. "You were eavesdropping when I made it very clear that this was a private conversation." If Minato wasn't already shaking in his boots, he definitely would be now. Miya noticed his obvious discomfort and decided to relent her assault. "But I suppose that I would've told you about this anyway, so there's no real harm done." This was not what Minato was expecting.

"WHAT?" Exclaimed his mom. "You mean you're just going to let him get off easy? He heard almost everything! Aren't you upset at all? He's not going to learn anything if you're soft on him!" Takami was noticeable upset that her son was getting of the hook for what he did. Minato guessed it had something to do with her hammering that eavesdropping is bad into his head when he was still an impressionable (not to mention easily threatened) child.

"I think that you've already done enough harm to him already." Miya said to a suddenly baffled Takami. "Like I said before, I don't approve of the parenting methods you used to raise him." She explained. "Also, Minato is living in my inn now, so I set the rules, not you." This caused Takami to grumble something Minato couldn't make out, though he guessed it was either some form of protest, or a begrudging acceptance of her words.

"Truth be told, I'm somewhat grateful that Minato heard our conversation." This got her some odd stares, and Miya couldn't help but let out a sigh at their reactions. Honestly, she had expected Minato to be confused, but Takami had heard the whole story and should be smart enough to know what she meant. "Minato." She said as she turned to, and knelt down to the eye-level, of the man in question, who still had a nervous sweat. "While this may not be quite the way I planed to tell you, this is the best time to do so." After saying this, she moved forward and kissed a very shocked Minato, right in front of Takami, who was gaping like a fish.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and when they parted, wings of light immediately appeared from Miya's back.

"I love you Minato." Miya said after her wings faded.

Neither Minato nor his mother were quite sure what to say, they settled for staring in shock for the moment. Unsurprisingly, Takami was the first to get her wits about her.

"Well fuck." She mumbled, drawing their attention. "Even after she was winged, I never thought that something like this would happen. Well, yeah, the thought **did** cross my mind when you first winged her, but I knew there was no chance of that ever happening, guess I was wrong though." She grunted. "But even in my wildest nightmares, I definitely did **not** see **you** of all people actually considering...** that**." She said with disdain, confusing Minato.

"What is 'that'?" Minato asked once he regained his nerves.

"'That' is the idea that Kazehana came up with." Groaned Takami. "I can't believe this. I can't believe **you **of all people are actually considering polygamy." She said as she looked tiredly at Miya.

"What?" Minato asked weakly, wondering and hoping that he had misheard.

"Come along Minato." Said Miya as though nothing had happened. "We can't keep everyone waiting, and I believe that Takami was just leaving, weren't you?" She said as her mask appeared.

Takami just let out a sigh at this. "Fine, if you want me gone, I'm gone. My kids are grown-up anyway, I can't look after them forever after all." She said as she took her leave. "Good luck with your life son, you're going to need it **a lot** more than I ever thought you would."

Minato's head was spinning with all that he had just heard. _'Miya...Love...Polygamy...When and how did this all happen?'_ He found himself asking. _'And Yukari approving? The two she looks at? Shiina and Mutsu?'_ His brotherly instincts didn't like the idea of his sister getting involved in polyandry._ 'And me? Polygamy? I have eight Sekirei. **EIGHT!** Homura doesn't like me like that, but that still leaves seven girls. **SEVEN!** Why did this happen to me? Why?'_ Minato was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he hardly noticed Miya rousing him from his trance.

"Minato." Miya said as her gentle nudging finally got the object of her affections to snap out of his funk and look at her. He just looked at her, unsure of what to say or do. "I suggest that you go out first. We don't want anyone to get suspicious." She told him._ 'Especially Kazehana.'_ She added to herself. _'If I don't break this idea to them all in the right way I'll never hear the end of it.'_

"Why me?" Minato asked of whatever god or spirit decided to mess with his life like this.

"I don't entirely understand myself." Miya replied, even though she knew that the question wasn't meant for her. "For so long I was silently grieving for Takehito. I wouldn't give the idea of meeting someone else a second thought. When you and everyone else first came to Izumo Inn I thought having you around would brighten my life and help ease the pain of losing him. Little did I know that I would eventually find someone new." She was having an easier time of saying all of this than she thought. "The time that I spent with everyone was wonderful, and for the first time in so long I felt great joy, though the underlying sorrow that I still felt from Takehito's passing never fully went away. When you winged me, part of me felt like I was betraying Takehito, though the rest of me knew better. I know he would not scorn me for something that wasn't even my fault." She felt good talking about how she had fallen for him. It was like a great weight was being lifted from her shoulders. "During the picnic tonight, when everyone was enjoying themselves, I felt all the pain that I normally feel vanish," She explained to Minato, who was starting to understand. "And I knew that I had you to thank for all of that Minato. You brought me something that I hadn't felt in years, complete joy. I knew then and there that you were what I had been looking for for so long. And I knew that everyone else, except Homura of course, must feel the same way, and I just couldn't find it in me to deny them of something so wonderful."

Not knowing what else to say or do right now, Minato nodded his head in silent understanding and slowly got up and left.

_'There are going to be a lot of obstacles ahead of us all Minato. But I'd face them all for you.'

* * *

_What do you think of that everyone! I have Homura questioning his sexuality! Miya admitting to Minato and his mom her feelings for the poor boy! And Miya saying that polygamy and polyandry are okay! Not to mention Minaka falling down several flights of stairs. Could this fic get any better? Find out next time on-

Total! Drama! Island/Action/World Tour~!

Whoops, sorry. Got a little carried away there. No Total Drama whatever here. But seriously. Stay tuned.

"One more thing!" On the last line of the **Inside Izumo Inn** section, I purposely left out what Miya was about to say because I thought it would be more dramatic that way.

"One more thing!" Because a frequent reviewer asked, I will tell you how Miya knew about the technology at ?'s disposal. The cloaking device was pretty obvious, since Minato appeared out of nowhere when she was winged and she knows that ? is responsible for that. If he didn't use a cloaking device for that, then what the hell did he use? As for the transforming car, Yukari told her about her ride back to the inn, it's as simple as that. And the anti-gravity device was what she _'thinks'_ was used to have the sleigh fly overhead (there's another explanation for that, which I will explain next chapter).


	10. Chapter 10

Hello again faithful readers! How do you all do? Since I don't know how to continue from where the last chapter left off, I'm not really sure what to do with this chapter, so I'm going to wing it...

Nah! I'm just kidding! Truth be told I actually have a pretty good idea of what to write, I just need to give you a basic summary of what's going to happen. This chapter is basically going to show the highlights of what's going to happen at Izumo Inn for awhile. Kinda like an epilogue. This chapter is a two part chapter because it's so long. After that this story will be done. It's been a good run, and I thank you all for reading this far. It also feels good to be finishing a story that I wrote from start to finish.

And now! Without further ado! I present the last chapter in MMKMTKHMA, YSM, CU, SHH, 4KHB!

"One more thing!" This chapter **will** get a little more ecchi than my previous ones, but there will be no lemons. I find those disgusting, and frankly they take too long. It may get a bit weird at times, but please bear with it.

"One more thing!" This chapter is going to about two times longer than my previous ones, so I have to streamline it as much as possible. The quality will go down a bit to allow for more quantity. Again, please bear with it.

"One more thing!" I will be coming up with a lot of my own explanations for several things in the original story for this chapter. More so than a usual fanfic. You have been warned. Once more, please bear with it.

* * *

**Night of The Picnic - After Miya's Confession**

Minato walked back into the backyard a minute before Miya did. When he got back, Kazehana couldn't help what she did next.

"So, did you hear anything interesting, Mi-na-to?" She whispered into his ear seductively after he sat down, prompting a deep blush from Minato, and a verbal assault from Tsukiumi.

_'I can't help but feel that she knows what I heard inside.'_ Minato thought uneasily as Kazehana cast a sly wink in his direction, more or less confirming his thoughts. However, it also had the unfortunate, though admittedly rather predictable, side-effects of making Tsukiumi even angrier, and somehow getting Musubi and Akitsu involved as well.

"Is everyone doing alright?" Miya said when she came back, causing everyone to settle down instantly, though not before Kazehana playfully waved at her.

_'She knows.'_ Miya thought bluntly. _'Knowing her, she probably knew about how I felt even before I did.'_

"So, what was your little talk with Takami about?" Asked Mutsu.

"I just wanted to talk with an old friend, that's all." Miya replied.

Mutsu took a moment to try to decipher what Miya may have really talked about with Takami based on what he'd seen and heard since he got here. It took a few seconds before he arrived at an idea that, while somewhat absurd, was the best fit for what he'd gathered in the short time he'd been here (he came to the right conclusion just in case you were wondering). "You're not going to give me a straight answer, are you?" He asked.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Miya answered in her typical, fear inducing fashion.

"And if I told you that I have a pretty good idea of what was said in there?" He dared to continue.

"I don't know why you'd be interested in what two women would talk about, unless you're one of **those** people." Miya said in a scolding mother tone.

"Mutsu!" Exclaimed Yukari with Shinigami. "I can't believe that you would even think of something like that!"

"Like what?" He retorted. "You have no idea what I was thinking about, and you barely know me. How could you form an opinion about what I said one way or the other?"

"I know all I need to in order to know that you were thinking about something you shouldn't! If you're going to think and ask about something like **that **then I'm going to have to re-think our relationship."

"What relationship? We hardly know each other, our history with each other is horrible, and we're arguing for absolutely no reason." Mutsu pointed out.

"Like hell we don't have a reason! You're being a pervert, that's the reason!"

"I am not being a pervert. You've got everything completely wrong." Mutsu growled.

"You two have such good chemistry." Intervened Kazehana happily.

"What chemistry?" Yukari and Mutsu growled at Kazehana in unison, prompting them to glare at each other and then quickly turn away.

_'They really are too cute together!'_ Thought Kazehana gleefully as she pulled out a hidden bottle of alcohol. _'It looks like Shiina's gonna have to learn to share though.'_

* * *

**Minato's Room - The Next Day**

Minato woke-up to a typical sight for him.

There were girls in his bed.

_'Who is it this time?'_ He thought._ 'Alright, Musubi and Tsukiumi are both holding onto my arms. They seem to favor that area. And at my legs we have... Akitsu?'_ He thought puzzled when he saw Akitsu hugging him around the waist, barely peeking out from under the blanket. _'This is a bit odd, well, more so than usually. I mean, I just met her last night and she's already sleeping in the same room as me. Why would anyone be so forward?'_ As he thought this he noticed the two Sekirei clinging to his arms beginning to wake-up. Musubi and Tsukiumi got up at the same time and engaged in their usual silent glaring argument. Minato was somehow able to usher them out of the room without them noticing Akitsu, since he had some questions for her.

"Akitsu?" He asked as he gently roused her from sleep.

"Who is it?" She asked groggily as she got up, revealing that she was TOTALLY NUDE!

Minato went red instantly and got up and turned away just as quickly. "A-Akitsu! P-please put on some clothes!" He exclaimed silently so that no one would overhear him.

"Where am I?" Akitsu asked as she looked around, ignoring his request. When she saw Minato she let out a sudden gasp. "Last night. Did it really happen?" She asked hopefully as she began forming her ice into something.

"Did what really happen?" Asked an increasing red-faced Minato.

"The mark." Akitsu said as she looked in the mirror she had made. "It's not on my forehead." She quickly made another mirror and held it behind her to make a series of reflections. "It's on my back now. I have an Ashikabi." She said happily when she noticed the mark on her back reflected in the mirror.

"Yes you do. Now would you please get some clothes on?" Asked Minato again, this time letting his patience slip and letting his dragon out.

"OK." Akitsu quickly complied.

Minato couldn't believe what was happening. You could say all that you want about how he should be used to this kind of thing by now, but waking-up to find someone you haven't even know for a day yet, sleeping in your futon, naked of all things, wasn't exactly something (almost) **anyone** would be used to. However, Minato still had a few questions that needed answering, and though he came very close to forgetting what they were at the sight of a nude Akitsu, close just doesn't cut it.

"Hey, Akitsu was it?" He began, and received a 'yes' in response. "Why are you already okay with this?"

"What do you mean?" She asked as she slipped her panties on.

"I mean, why do you seem so happy about having me as an Ashikabi? You just met me last night, and I thought Mikogami was already your Ashikabi."

"Mikogami was never my Ashikabi. I was a disused number. I couldn't be winged." She said sadly. Minato couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for her "M.B.I. used me for experiments and then threw me away when they had damaged me too much." Minato really got angry at M.B.I. for this. "I was sad because I could never really belong to anyone. Mikogami saw me as useful and gave me a purpose. I helped him get more Sekirei and would have helped him win the Sekirei Plan. It was no substitute for having a real Ashikabi, but it was enough to give me some happiness in life." Some of Minato's anger was redirected at Mikogami once he heard how he took advantage of the poor girl. "But now that I have a real Ashikabi, I have a real purpose, and for the first time in my life I feel complete." Minato had to think about how to respond to that... "I'm dressed now Ashikabi-sama." She said as she hugged him and pressed her chest up against his back, making it even harder to think of a response.

It took a few moments for him to gather his wits and think of a response. "Akitsu," He began as he pulled her arms off of himself and turned around. "First of all, I don't want you to call me Ashikabi-sama, Minato works fine. Second, know that I'll treat you like an equal, not like some pawn in a game. And third, Miya doesn't allow my Sekirei to sleep in the same room as me so please don't sleep in here again, or I'll get in trouble." He finished lamely.

"Very well Ashi-" Akitsu paused. "Minato-sama." She said as she left the room.

Minato let out a sigh of relief. "Well that was close. I managed to dodge I don't know how many bullets just now." Minato didn't know how this massive stroke of good luck had happened, but he was glad it did nonetheless. At least until he noticed something out of place.

"Where's Shiina?" He thought aloud as he wondered where his roommate could be.

* * *

**Yukari's Room - The Same Day**

"Urrrg." Groaned Yukari as she clutched her head in pain. "I think someone spiked my drink last night." Bet you can't guess who.

"Same here." Came a slightly more masculine groan from beside her, prompting her to snap to full attention to see who it was.

It was Shiina.

He was naked.

Yukari slowly and uneasily looked down and noticed that she was too.

Shiina saw Yukari.

He noticed she was naked.

He looked down and noticed that he was too.

He got up, silently but quickly put on the clothes he was wearing the day before, and left the room.

Yukari was still having a 'What the F###' moment.

Neither of them spoke at all for the rest of the day, which caused some concern for Mutsu.

* * *

**Minato's Room - That Night**

"Today was actually pretty nice. Especially considering what yesterday was like." Minato said to himself as he got into bed. He had the room to himself tonight, since Shiina said that he felt like bunking with Mutsu tonight, saying that he needed to sort out his head for some reason, though he didn't say why. "Though Yukari and Shiina did seem a bit quiet today." He noticed, completely unaware of why that was.

"Ohhhh, Minato." Came a chipper voice from his doorway.

"Kazehana? What are you doing here?" He asked as he noticed who it was.

"Do you think I'm sexy?" She asked bluntly as she struck a pose that made her already highly voluptuous figure even more noticeable than it already was.

"What?" Minato asked weakly, wondering if he'd heard wrong.

"Do you think I'm sexy?" She asked a second time as she got up close and personal.

"W-Why are you asking that?" Minato stammered at their closeness.

"I know that Miya confessed to you." She began, shocking Minato, though he had already suspected it. "And I know that you can't help but feel torn with so many women after you. So I'm just asking you now before I lose my chance. Do you think I'm sexy? And I'm not going to take any changing of the subject. It's a simple yes or no question."

"W-Well, you definitely have a good," Minato took a nervous pause here to gulp. "Figure, if that's what you mean."

"But do you think I'm sexy?" She repeated once again, as she got somewhat irritated at him dodging the question. "Do you want to feel my curves? Do you want to knock me up? Do you want me to bear your children? What?" She asked completely serious.

"K-K-K-Kazehana!" He exclaimed weakly.

"I want you, you know." She said as she started taking off her clothes in front of a very red-faced Minato. "I want a future with you and everyone else. I'm dreaming of a big. No. A huge family. Where every one of us, your precious Sekirei, has made a child with you." She sighed to Minato seductively.

Minato had no idea how to respond to what she'd just said. She was basically asking if she and all of his other Sekirei could mother one or more of his children, and she looked ready to start now. He was about to run away when he noticed a powerful smell.

"Kazehana. You've been drinking haven't you." He said as he used his dragon to try and scare a now naked Kazehana off of him.

"Yes, yes I have." She replied calmly. "But I still want this, and you're not getting away that easily." She said as she brought his shirt off over his head, causing him to lose focus. "Don't worry. This is my first time too." She said as she started kissing his neck.

That night, Minato lost his virginity.

* * *

**Six Days After Sex With Kazehana**

_'I still can't believe that happened.' _Minato thought for what felt like the thousandth time since he had sex with Kazehana. (It was actually the 1,225th time)

Kazehana hadn't had even one sip of alcohol since it had happened, saying that he was just that satisfying. He hadn't said much of anything to her aside from asking her about that.

"Good evening Minato." Said Miya as she walked into the room.

"Oh, good evening Miya." He replied. In spite of the initial awkwardness caused by her confession a week ago, Minato and Miya still had a good connection with each other. Miya was working on making that connection stronger, but was content to let things develop naturally for the time being.

"You've seem distressed for the past few days." She noticed. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Minato suddenly went stiff. _'Trust Miya to know when something's up.' _He panicked inwardly. _'What do I do here? Should I tell her? Or do I wait until... Until what? I don't know what could make telling her this any easier!'_ Suddenly there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get it." Minato said a bit too quickly as he walked to the door, wanting to get away from this for at least a few seconds. "Who is i-" His words died in his throat when he opened the door and saw who it was.

It was Natsuo Ichinomi. Ashikabi of the Disciplinary Squad.

"Hello again Minato. May I come inside? It's a bit cold out here what with it being so close to winter." Natsuo said pleasantly, as though he wasn't hated by most of the inn's occupants.

Minato tried to talk but couldn't find any words. Luckily, he didn't have to.

"What are you doing here?" Came two voices.

"Ah, Miya, Homura. How nice to see you two again." Natsuo said calmly to the two voices who were now known.

"I said, what are you doing here?" Miya repeated scathingly, hannya mask on full. "Neither you, nor anyone else from M.B.I. are allowed here. So if you value your life I suggest that you leave immediately."

Miya expected him to be scared away, or something along those lines, but the last thing she would've expected, was exactly what happened.

He burst out laughing.

"Yo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!" Laughed Natsuo loudly, drawing everyone at the inn. "If I'm not allowed here, then how have I been coming and going from here for months now?" He asked.

"You... You're." Stuttered out Homura.

"That's right." Confirmed Natsuo/? "I'm the one responsible for all the bizarre events going on here as of late."

Everyone was speechless. To find out that the one responsible for all these events was someone like Natsuo was just shocking.

"I have no doubt that you all have a great many questions for me, so I suggest that we all adjourn to the dining room so I may explain all my actions in the Sekirei Plan." He bowed as he let himself in and walked to the dining room. With almost everyone too stunned to speak, and those who could still speak not knowing what to say, they all followed him to the dining room for some answers.

"So, I know you have many questions, and I promise you all that I will answer them to the best of my abilities, since I feel like I owe you all that much." Natsuo began calmly, in spite of the fact that almost everyone in the room was sending him death glares. "In an effort for everyone to save time however, I would prefer it if Miya asked her questions first, as she seems to have the best grasp on my actions of anyone here besides myself."

"Very well." Miya agreed, though she didn't let up her glare as she began questioning him. "First, I think that we would all like to know who you really are."

"Interesting question." Replied Natsuo with a look on his face that might pass for puzzled. "However, it's understandable, given my habit of using disguises. For all you know I might just be using Natsuo's appearance to get a rise out of you all, I certainly wouldn't put it past myself to do so." He commented playfully, though no one was amused, most looked even angrier than before. "To answer your question, you need only look at this." He said as he pulled a small disc out of his pocket and placed it on the table. Miya just looked at it as if it were some joke.

"And what is this supposed to be?" She demanded

"My ID." Natsuo replied smugly as he pressed a button on it, causing a hologram of a person and some illegible writing to pop up and throw everyone for a loop, some more than others. "You see, I'm what you might call an alien." He explained as if it were nothing big, that really got a rise.

"An alien!" Exclaimed Tsukiumi, Matsu, and Minato.

"I thought aliens were little green men." Deflated Musubi, Kusano, Uzume, Kazehana, and Akitsu in unison.

"Don't eat my brain!" Pleaded Shiina and Chiho.

"I don't believe it." Said Homura, Mutsu, and Yukari skeptically.

"And exactly what proof do you have besides this?" Asked Miya as she gestured at the hologram.

"In this order." Began Natsuo as he put away his ID. "Like I haven't heard that one before. The universe is vast, so I'm sure that **some** aliens are little green men. Zombies eat brains more often in fiction than aliens. Again, like I haven't heard that one before. And do you remember some of the stuff I have at my disposal, if that isn't alien tech, I don't know what is." He explained eloquently, effectively shutting everyone up for a moment.

The next person to speak was Homura. "Say that we believe you about being an alien-"

"Which most of you do." Natsuo interjected, causing Homura to get angrier.

"Why would you come here and do what you've done?" Homura asked.

"A spaceship crash lands on an underdeveloped planet, and you expect aliens to not take notice?" Natsuo answered sarcastically. No one had thought of that.

"Wait, a spaceship? What are you talking about?" Demanded Yukari.

"That's how the Sekirei got here." Answered Minato.

"Seriously!"

"Hold on," Intervened Mutsu. "If you really came because of the spaceship, then why did no one else come to investigate it 20 years ago when it first crashed?" He pointed out.

"There are intergalactic laws concerning this kind of thing." Natsuo explained. "Even though this crashed ship has been known about in certain circles for several years, until just two Earth years ago this planet was deemed too primitive for any aliens to legally set foot on it. The recent advancements made by M.B.I. using the technology on the ship were what made the planet advanced enough for it to be considered open for travel. Though there are still laws in place to prevent planet-wide takeovers and other such things in case you were worried about that."

"So you came to investigate the ship." Tsukiumi clarified. "Does that make you a cop or something?"

"No." He replied easily. "I said that the ship was known about in **certain circles**, and the authorities aren't one of them. If they knew, you can bet that I wouldn't have been able to get involved. I'm what you might call a nomadic worker, or hobo, in Earth terms."

"A hobo?" Asked the majority of the people in the room sceptically.

"Yes, a hobo. I travel a lot, take work were I can get it, and I find out about a lot of things by working in various places. Rumors of a ship containing the brainwaves of 108 wanted criminals and the new bodies being cloned for them, which is an illegal practice as transferring brainwaves to a new host can cause severe mental instability, crashing on an underdeveloped world being one of them." Natsuo said, shocking everybody.

"Wanted... Criminals." Minato breathed out.

"Wanted criminals." Parroted Natsuo. "Specifically, they were wanted for being the most notorious and longest lived of all prostitution rings in the galaxy. The reason there are so few male Sekirei is due to the fact that not many women would pay for sex." This really got a rise.

"WHAT!" Exclaimed a mortified Tsukiumi. "My body was going to be used for-used for..." She couldn't get the words out, and quite frankly, everyone else was too stunned to speak as well.

"You don't have to say it." Interjected Natsuo. "I know how you feel about that kind of stuff. Anyway, from what I understand, Minaka got to the ship when it was damaged and managed to get at your bodies and modify them before the brainwaves could be implanted. This allowed you to develop your own minds, and since you're all technically clones and not being used as new bodies for anyone, the law can't touch you for what your bodies **would** have been used for. Since just having the same DNA as a criminal isn't illegal." Everyone seemed content to let the man explain things on his own for now, since he was doing so well at it. "In case anyone is wondering where the criminal minds are, look no further than this." He said as he pulled out a sack and emptied it on the table, the contents of which were...

"Jinkis!" Exclaimed Matsu. (Why do I suddenly feel like I'm writing a Scooby-Doo fan fic here?)

"Yes. Numbers 05-07 to be precise." Explained Natsuo. "The original purpose of these devices was to be storage devices for the brainwaves. Sort of like flash drives. When brought together in a certain manner, they were designed to send out the brainwaves to their new hosts. However, the tampering Minaka did to your bodies, in addition to the fact that you've all developed your own minds, made it so that they would terminate you all instead."

"Terminate." Was all Minato managed to get out.

"Again, yes. You have no need to worry though. I've already emptied all the data from all the Jinkis to a new, more secure storage device, you can feel free to keep the Jinkis, since they're useless to me now anyway. I also managed to sneak the data from the ones you already had a few weeks ago while you were all sleeping."

"I take it that's when you put almost everyone at the inn in Minato's room." Stated Miya dangerously, a simple nod was her response. "And why exactly did you see fit to do that?"

"I was bored." Natsuo explained as if it was the most simple thing in the world.

"I see." Miya was clearly upset. "And what else did you do during your stay on Earth out of boredom?"

"A lot of things. Right now I'll explain why I'm dressed as Natsuo." He began. "When I first came to this planet and investigated the Sekirei Plan, I knew that stopping it was not only the right thing to do, but it would also be pretty damn entertaining." This got him some angry glares.

"The first thing I had to do was get some more intelligence on the matter. And the man I went to for that should be arriving right now." He said as the wall behind him began to shift and change, much to everyone's shock. "Ladies and Gentleman! I give you, the one, the only, the genuine," He said dramatically as a man in red stepped out of what looked a chimney that had appeared behind him. "Santa Clause!"

"HO HO HO!" Laughed Santa as he dusted himself off. "Nice to see everyone again. Now I understand you all have a few questions for my friend and I. So let me just-"

"SANTA CLAUSE!" Musubi, Kusano, Uzume, Chiho, and Shiina shouted happily as they rushed over to hug Santa.

"I don't believe it." Said Homura, Mutsu, and Minato breathlessly. They had to admit that something like what just happened **had** to be proof of Santa.

"Santa." Gasped Tsukiumi, Kazehana, and Akitsu. "SANTA!" Tsukiumi and Kazehana cried as they rushed over to join in the group hug. Akitsu just sat there, mouth agape.

"That was the real Santa!" Exclaimed Matsu and Yukari.

Miya just stared in shock.

"Ho Ho Ho." Laughed Santa. "I'm glad to see everybody getting into the spirit of things, but I believe that some of you still have a few questions for my friend and I."

"Right, right, right!" Chanted Musubi, as she, Tsukiumi, Kazehana and Uzume rushed back to their seats, still starry-eyed.

"Um, Santa?" Began Chiho nervously. "Do you think that... Maybe I could... Sit on your lap? Like little kids do at the mall."

"Ku too?" Asked Kusano hopefully.

"Er, could I, I mean, it would be such a big honer." Fidgeted Shiina.

"Of course you can." Santa agreed. "I wouldn't be much of a Santa if I didn't let kids do that much, now would I?" He sat down and the three quickly and happily took their places on his lap. "Now that everyone's comfortable, I think we can continue."

"Thank you Santa." Said Natsuo courteously. "Now, as I was saying. I went to Santa for information because I've heard about him on some stray broadcasts from Earth satellites that made it into space, and I knew that someone who 'sees you when you're sleeping', 'knows when you're awake', and 'knows when you've been bad or good' would have all the info I need on Minaka and his plans."

"When he came to me with his plan, I couldn't have been happier that someone who knew about Minaka was finally putting forward some serious and promising effort to foil his plans." Santa explained. "I couldn't do much to stop him myself, but I was more than able to tell this young hero all I knew about the Sekirei Plan, and all I knew about who Minaka was planning to make the Ashikabi of the Disciplinary Squad."

"I knew that, even though I was more than willing to fully believe Santa's words, the only thing that would really hold up in a court of law would be hard evidence. To get that, I went undercover."

"So you chose to impersonate the Ashikabi of the Disciplinary Squad because that position would allow you access to private information, and you wouldn't need to do anything to convince them of who you were aside from acting the part right." Matsu guessed.

"Actually I could easily get all that information without the disguise. I just wanted an easy way to get to know some attractive girls better." He explained shamelessly, everyone just stared.

"Are you serious?" Asked Yukari bitterly.

"Remember when I said I did a lot of things out of boredom?" Natsuo asked, Yukari nodded. "Scoring with women was one of them."

"Pervert." Scoffed Homura.

"And proud of it!" Remarked Natsuo.

"While I'll admit that some of his motives were less than clean, he was still doing the right thing." Said Santa.

"What about the the real Natsuo?" Asked Akitsu, drawing some odd looks. "You're impersonating him, so where is the real Natsuo?"

"I left him in a remote Australian village that rarely has any contact with the outside world, with a device implanted under his skin that jams any communication devices within a kilometer radius of it." The fake Natsuo explained. "That way he can't contact M.B.I. via phone or mail." Everyone just stared at him as if he was some kind of monster.

"You said you became the Ashikabi of the Disciplinary Squad for evidence as well." Mutsu said, deciding to ignore the man's extremist methods for the time being. "What happened with it?"

"Read this paper and find out." Natsuo said as he flung a newspaper onto the table. The headline of the front page shocked everyone.

**President of M.B.I. Sentenced to Life!**

"It would seem that some anonymous concerned citizen decided to send the police some damning evidence of Minaka conducting 108 counts of illegal genetic experiments." Natsuo explained as if he had nothing to do with it. "That kind of crime would easily get you more years than anyone could live through, so the judge just decided to sentence him to life with no chance of parole, and ordered the immediate disbandment of M.B.I.'s private army."

"Minaka... Jailed. This is like a dream come true." Breathed an ecstatic Homura.

"Indeed." Said Natsuo. "He's not dead like you wanted, but a life without freedom seems like a worse punishment to me."

"Dead?" Asked Shiina nervously.

"I wanted to kill Minaka for what he was doing to the Sekirei, but a life in prison does seem like a worse punishment to me." Explained a very happy Homura.

"Do you honestly believe that his stay in jail will be unpleasant?" Asked Mutsu. "With his money and connections, he could easily have someone on the outside bribe the guards to give him special treatment."

"I had thought of that right from the get-go." Retorted Natsuo. "Yukari, do you recall the overweight red-head and the Sekirei in prisoner clothes that you saw in the fourth match?"

"Yeah. So what? They were just a couple of jerks who worked for that bastard Higa." She scoffed.

"Not quite. You see, he was actually a very good man who had been thrust into a bad situation. He had been a part of my plan from the beginning. I even played match-maker for him and his Sekirei." He explained, baffling everyone present, though they knew they would be getting answers to this action soon. "Once Minaka was sentenced to life, I gave him back his Sekirei, as I did with all the other Sekirei who had good Ashikabi. The ones with bad Ashikabi, I gave to new ones, and that includes bad Ashikabi who had Sekirei that hadn't been terminated." Everyone was shocked that someone would go through so much trouble, but saw no reason to question this judgment. It seemed very sound and kind after all. "Now back to the red-head. He was especially important here, as he just so happens to be the warden of the prison that Minaka was sent to."

"So with him in charge of the prison, Minaka isn't going to get any special treatment." Mutsu guessed, impressed with the man's forethought.

"Anyone who tries to give it to him will most likely be fired and discredited. Not to mention the fact that the warden decided to lock him up in solitary, with camera surveillance watching his every move, would make it impossible for anyone to even try." He finished. "Now, does anyone else have any questions?"

"I do!" Chimed in Kazehana. "How exactly do we fit into all of this?"

"An excellent question!" He replied happily. "I needed some way to keep Minaka from noticing any suspicious actions I take, so I played matchmaker for all of you, except Uzume and Chiho."

"Wait a second!" Exclaimed Minato. "When you say all of us, do you mean..." He trailed off.

"All of you typically means all of you. In other words, I was secretly pulling strings behind the scenes the whole time. From before Minato winged his first Sekirei up until this point, I've been arranging it so that you would all meet up with each other and divert attention away from myself."

"But, why us?"

"Let me see here... Musubi was saved by Sekirei No.08 at the cost of her own life. Minaka sent out messages to all Ashikabi about Kusano and Homura. Matsu, Kazehana, Miya, and Mutsu all used to be members of the Disciplinary Squad. Tsukiumi was originally planning to kill whoever would become her Ashikabi before anything happened. And Akitsu is a disused number. The only Sekirei that didn't have any noticeable history surrounding them was Shiina, but I thought that having him be winged by Yukari was the right thing to do for some reason." He explained. "With your unusual backgrounds and the fact that I arranged for all of them to live here, an easily entertained fool like Minaka would be far to distracted by what was happening here to notice me. It also helps that Minato and Yukari are Minaka's kids." Natsuo was well aware that he'd just opened up a can of worms, and he couldn't be happier, especially since he knew that with everyone focusing on that, they would forget to be upset about his using them as distractions.

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Exclaimed Homura, Tsukiumi, Uzume, and Chiho.

Miya, Kazehana, and Mutsu just looked on in silence, as they were already aware of that.

Matsu and Shiina showed mild shock. They were aware of that fact, but couldn't believe that he just told everyone.

Musubi, Kusano, and Akitsu were quite shocked, though they didn't outburst like some of the others did.

Santa just shook his head disapprovingly. He knew about that much, of course, he was **Santa **after all, but he saw no real reason to tell anybody about it. The young lad had just made things needlessly more complicated.

Minato really wished he was anywhere else right now.

Yukari, however...

"Look," She began firmly. "We didn't chose our family, okay? I thought that we had established that much a week ago! That guy is a complete bastard! Can't we all just be glad that he's locked-up and be done with it?" Everyone just looked everywhere but her out of guilt when she had said that.

"You're right!" Declared Tsukiumi. "It doesn't matter who my father-in-law is, so long as I'm with Minato, I'm happy!" Everyone knew she had such a good point, that no one bothered to comment on the 'father-in-law' part of her declaration.

"I'm glad you see it that way." Said Natsuo. "Since every single one of Minato's Sekirei feels the same way. Possibly barring Homura, but he's the only one." This got everyone's attention. "For now at least." He added quietly.

"Miya too?" Asked Kusano.

Miya shot a fierce glare at Natsuo, who didn't pay it any mind. Seeing that she would get nowhere fast by trying to scare this man, she relented her assault and turned her attention to Kusano. "Yes Ku-chan, I feel just as strongly for Minato as anyone else in this room."

When she said this, everyone except; Minato, Mutsu, Kazehana, Santa, and Natsuo just stared at Miya in shock. They all knew that Miya was a widow, and from what they knew of her, they thought she wouldn't give love another shot anytime soon. What she just said however, proved them all wrong.

"That's so great Miya!" Exclaimed Musubi. "Even though you lost your happiness once, you've found a new one with Minato! I'm so happy for you!" She rushed over to, and embraced Miya.

"Thank you Musubi." Said Miya. She was glad Musubi was here, as her simple and positive outlook on life lets her spread cheer quickly.

"Wait just a second!" Exclaimed Tsukiumi. "It's bad enough that I already have to compete with six others for my right to wed Minato, but now I have to compete with someone who has prior experience with marriage! Why are there so many obstacles between me and what's rightfully mine?" She ranted.

"Don't include me in that count." Deadpanned Homura.

"We could just share him." Suggested Matsu and Kazehana in unison.

"Can Ku have Minato to herself for Christmas?" Kusano asked Santa.

"Hey! Don't go asking Santa for help! That's cheating!" Exclaimed Tsukiumi.

"I'm afraid I don't grant wishes like that for Christmas." Replied Santa.

"I still can't believe my brother has so many women after him." Seethed Yukari.

"I don't mind sharing Minato. Just as long as he's my Ashikabi." Said Akitsu.

"What's going on?" Asked a baffled Musubi.

"Why don't you sexy ladies all try polygamy." Suggested Natsuo loudly, silencing everyone.

"What was that?" Asked Miya dangerously.

"The 'sexy ladies' part was just to get everyone to shut-up. The polygamy part was a serious suggestion." Explained Natsuo as he got up. "Now if you'll all excuse me, I think that I've answered any and all questions you may have, and I need to hand the brainwaves of the prostitution ring over to the proper authority if I want to get the massive reward for their capture." He said as he walked off.

"Wait one minute." Said Miya, causing Natsuo to stop in his tracks. "What do you plan to do about the Disciplinary Squad? Even though you're their Ashikabi, they work to enforce the rules of the Sekirei Plan. Do you honestly think that your plan to 'score with women' will work? Especially with Karasuba."

"Miya, you of all people should know that nobody, no matter how strong of mind, body, or heart, is immune to their emotions." Natsuo explained, wagging his finger at Miya as if she were being a foolish child, something she did not take kindly to. "Even though I had to act like a homo while I was in this disguise, I was still able to work my charms under the table. Benitsubasa and Haihane both fell for me no more than two weeks after I winged them, and they've been more loyal to me than M.B.I. since then. Karasuba was much harder. From what I could tell, she had been grappling with her emotions and conscience since Christmas Eve when I took the three of them out to see 'A Christmas Carol'. I knew that she would empathizes with the character of Ebenezer Scrooge weather she wanted to or not, and so I commented upon the similarities between the two when they arose in the play, which happened quite a lot."

"Ever since then, I doubled my efforts at winning her over, and making her see the error of her ways, though it was a rough road." He joked. "She would try to avoid me, and when she had to be around me, she would frequently act out against others, since she couldn't very well do so against me. It was only a little over three weeks ago when she finally had an emotional breakdown, and fully shifted her loyalties from a loose alignment with M.B.I., to full love and devotion towards me. That was actually what prompted me to be less sneaky with my distracting methods. With the biggest threat to Minaka's arrest out of the way, I could be as loud and crazy as I wanted."

Everyone who knew Karasuba personally was quite surprised. To them, the idea that Karasuba of all people would form an attachment of any kind, especially a romantic one, was just unthinkable, let alone have an emotional breakdown. Though apparently, this man had somehow managed it.

"That's great!" Exclaimed Musubi, shocking everyone except Natsuo and Santa. "Karasuba has found someone she loves! I'm so happy for her!"

"Yes Musubi, she has." Replied Natsuo happily. "Though I'll admit, it was a long and hard road to get her to open up. If I had to compare it to anything, it would be like a student trying to win the heart of their teacher." This got him some unsettled looks. "I read... a lot." Was his response to their stares. "Are there any **more** questions?" He asked somewhat dramatically, obviously wanting to leave. "Eh? What was that? You wanna know my real name?" He wondered enthusiastically with his hand to his ear, as if he really wanted to say it.

"Um... Well now that you mention it..." Minato trailed off uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure this guy was all there.

"I don't really feel like telling you that. Yo ho ho ho ho ho ho!" Nearly everyone in the room either fell over or face faulted at that. He had seemed so bored with talking, so enthusiastic about just his name, and then changed his mind about it, all in the span of a few seconds. It was official, this guy was nuts. "However, you can just call me 004. That's my original model number after all."

"Model number?" Asked Minato quizzically as he righted himself.

"Yes. In addition to being an alien and a hobo, I'm also a cyborg. I've also had myself modified a bit more after the initial modification, hence the 'original model number'." 004 explained, as he removed the skin off his right hand. Revealing, much to everyone's shock, a metallic hand underneath it.

"Thank you, 004." Minato said uncertainly as he shook his outstretched right hand.

"You're welcome, Minato." He replied as he pulled something out of his left pocket. "By the way, catch." He said as he tossed it at Kazehana, who snatched it out of the air. "Take that letter to a secluded place and read it. Right now." He said as the image of a metal behemoth appeared behind him. The metal monster had; a Gatling Gun for a right forearm, a large sword for a left forearm, a tank with two cannons for legs, and a trio of terminator eyes as the only features on it's head, a red eye on it's right, a blue eye on it's left, and a black one on it's forehead. Needless to say, almost everyone was scared.

"Right away." Kazehana said as she left almost instantly.

"Well, I suppose that I should be getting back to the North Pole." Said Santa as he removed Chiho, Kusano, and Shiina from his lap and got up.

"Do you really have to go?" Asked Chiho.

"I'm afraid so." Replied Santa. "But don't worry, I'll come over with on Christmas with a special present for all of you. How does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Replied Chiho ecstatically. "What will it be?"

"It wouldn't be much of a Christmas gift if I told you, now would it?" He explained as he got up and walked over to the chimney. "It was nice meeting you all!" He touched his little finger to his nose and flew up the chimney, with the chimney vanishing behind him.

"Bye-bye now." Said 004, right before he pulled out a remote and disappeared in a flash of white light, shocking everyone present.

"How did he do that?" Exclaimed Yukari.

"It's because he's an alien?" Guessed Minato uncertainly.

Deciding that they wouldn't be getting any better answer than that, they held their own little celebration of Minaka's imprisonment, and the end of the Sekirei Plan.

* * *

**That Night**

"Today was one of the best days I've had in a while." Commented Minato as he got in bed. It was true, now that the Sekirei Plan was over, everyone could live their lives easier. He had called his mom, just to make sure it was true, and, sure enough, it was.

Everyone had celebrated in pretty much the same way. Most of it involving; good food, soda, and a little dancing. Kazehana had even gotten Tsukiumi, Musubi, and Shiina to drink (though she didn't have any herself) at least before Miya had seen it and snatched it away, but it was a little too late for Shiina, who'd already passed out on the floor. Yukari said to just leave him there for the night, as punishment for doing something as stupid as drinking.

When he'd gotten settled in his futon, he heard his door open and close, prompting him to look and see who it was.

It was Tsukiumi and Musubi.

"What are you two doing here?" Asked Minato.

"Two?" They said in unison as they looked at each other. When they saw each other, their eyes opened wide.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Tsukiumi angrily. Minato noticed that her words were a bit slurred.

"Musubi is here to be with Minato-sama." She replied bubbly. Minato noticed that her words were a bit slurred as well.

"That's what I'm here for." Tsukiumi growled as she tackled Musubi to the floor.

"Musubi wants to spend the night with Minato-sama, and Tsukiumi can't stop her." Declared Musubi as she pulled Tsukiumi underneath her while yanking off her coat.

"I'm going to spend the night with my legal husband, and you can't stop me." Declared Tsukiumi as she grabbed Musubi and threw her off of her, though her grip on her shirt was too strong and Musubi left it behind when she tumbled across the floor.

Minato just stared at the scene before him. Both girls were obviously more than just a little tipsy, as evidenced by the fact that they hadn't even noticed that they had come into his room together until he pointed it out, and they were wrestling over him until their clothes were coming off. When he saw someone's panties fly by, he snapped out of his confusion and knew he had to stop it.

"Girls, please, stop this." He declared quietly so no one outside the room would hear them. "You shouldn't be fighting each other until you're naked." He told them, much too aware of their, now total nudity. They just stared at him for a moment before...

"Minato's right." Relented Tsukiumi. "We shouldn't be wrestling each other over Minato until we're naked." Musubi nodded in agreement at this, while Minato felt relieved that they were stopping.

Or at least he **was** relieved, until he heard what was said next.

"Since we're fighting over Minato, we should be wrestling **him** until he's naked." 'Reasoned' Tsukiumi. Musubi nodded in response again.

"What." Minato said shakily.

"Don't worry Minato-sama." Said Musubi as she and Tsukiumi pinned him to the ground. Their naked bodies pressing up against him "We know that humans are much weaker than Sekirei, so we promise to be gentle." Tsukiumi nodded in response this time.

_'Why did she have to word it like that?'_ Panicked Minato inwardly, as he was too panicked to talk.

When Musubi pulled off his shirt and Tsukiumi pulled off his pants, he knew he was in for it now, yet he found himself unable to yell for help.

That night Minato learned two important lessons.

One. Never try to reason with a drunk, it always makes things worse (or better, depending on your standpoint).

Two. Three-ways are exhausting.

The next day, when the three of them woke-up. Tsukiumi and Musubi had slight hangovers. When Tsukiumi saw that the three of them were naked in a futon, she quickly remembered the events of last night, got her clothes on at breakneck speeds, and left the room, too panicked to do anything else. Musubi took a little longer to remember last night, but when she did, she quickly followed Tsukiumi's example.

They didn't speak of it again.

* * *

**Thirteen Days After Sex With Musubi and Tsukiumi**

_'I sure hope that nothing happens.'_ Thought Minato for what felt like the 1,000th time as he got ready for bed. (it was actually the 1,225th time again) Shiina was sleeping outside of Yukari's room that night since she was feeling sick and he wanted to be close by in case she needed help, though this left him without a roommate to stop any intruders with less than clean ideas in mind for him. When he heard the door open, he panicked, until he saw who it was.

"Homura." He let out a sigh of relief._ 'If it's just him I don't need to worry.'_

"Hey Minato." Homura said uneasily as he made considerable effort to look anywhere but Minato. He had closed the door behind him, which made Minato a bit nervous again.

"Is there something wrong?" Minato asked as he noticed Homura's discomfort. Normally he might not have noticed it, but he was still a bit on edge from the shock of someone coming into his room when he was going to bed (with good reason).

"Well, it's just that," Homura paused to let out a breath he'd been holding. "Mutsu said something a few weeks ago, when he first came here, that got me thinking. And I've been thinking about it **a lot**." He was straining himself to talk about this.

"What is it?"

"Well... You and I get along petty well, right?" Asked Homura as his face got red

"Yeah." Answered Minato, somewhat afraid of why Homura was blushing.

"And... you know... how I feel about having been winged by... a man... right?" The blush on Homura's face stretched down his neck.

"Yeah." Answered Minato, a little more calm about this now. _'Looks like whatever he's talking about, it wasn't what I was worried about.'_

"Yeah... well... that's... changed." Homura barely managed to squeeze out.

"Eh." Was Minato's reply, as well as the only thing that could come to his mind.

"I... I can't help... what I feel... I... I really... like you... you know." Homura paused to let out another breath he'd been holding. He felt like he'd just gotten a huge load off of his shoulders. "I never... expected to feel this way... for another man... and I know you're not one of... 'those' people... like I am right now... so-"

"Wait a second!" Squeaked out a beet-red Minato. "What are you saying?"

"You know what I'm saying, Minato." Said Homura firmly as he crouched down to Minato's eye-level. He was suddenly feeling a lot more courageous since he'd already told Minato his feelings. "I like you... a lot." Though he still wasn't bold enough to say anything more bold than that. "And I know that you're not into guys, the fact that you've winged seven girls is proof of that much, so I'm asking you this now." He paused to gather his nerves.

"Please make me a woman." He asked boldly.

"Eh?" Went Minato again.

"You can do it. I've told you before that my Ashikabi can determine what I'm like. You just have to k-k-kiss me, while you imagine how you want me to be." Homura explained, only nervous on the word 'kiss'. "Just don't do anything to my mind, okay? I want things to progress naturally." He added panicked.

Minato was having a mini-panic-attack. Homura, a **man, **who used to work at a **host club**, who had been anything **but** happy about being winged by another man, was basically **confessing** to him. Not only that, but he was asking him to turn him into a **woman**. Sure he knew that he **could** do it, but he never thought that Homura would actually **ask** him to do so.

"A-Are you sure about... **this**?" Minato asked Homura.

"It took all the courage I had to get this far." Explained Homura. "So **yes** I'm certain. Now hurry up and get to it before I change my mind!" He said a little too fiercely.

"R-Right!" Panicked Minato. "S-So I just k-k-kiss you and..." He trailed off.

"You just k-kiss me and... imagine how you want me to be." Homura completed, before adding dangerously. "Just remember **not** to do anything to my mind, understand?"

"I understand!" Said Minato before he and Homura slowly began closing the distance between them. As they did this, one thought was on Minato's mind.

_'Just make him a woman! Just make him a woman!'_ He shouted in his head, as he didn't want to get anything wrong, and possibly upset Homura. However, a stray thought worked it's way into his head the moment before their lips made contact.

_'Why do I feel like I'm in here with Akitsu, Kazehana, Musubi, Tsukiumi again?'_

After they parted, wings of light appeared behind Homura, and his body began to change_. _His bust and hips increased in size, while his waist decreased in size. By the time it was done, Homura's three sizes were comparable to those of most of his other Sekirei.

**He** was now **she**.

And she was looking at him funny.

"Homura? What's with that look?" Minato asked uncertainly.

"Mi-na-to~." She whispered softly as she pressed her now ample chest up against his. "I've never noticed how cute you looked before." Minato felt his face get hotter at this. "I've always felt like I've had to keep my distance from you because we were both men, but now that I'm a woman, I feel like I've lost all my inhibitions, and I like it." She growled as she ripped her top of over her head.

_'What's going on?' _Panicked Minato. _'What went wrong when I... That's it! I thought about what happened when the girls kept coming into my room and... having sex with me,' _He didn't feel comfortable saying rape. _'And that must have gotten into his-her mind!'_

"Homura, you don't really want this-"

"Oh yes he does." Came a voice from the ceiling. Minato looked up and saw...

"Matsu? Akitsu? What are you-" He tried to say, but was cut off when they piled on him and Homura.

"Oh, did you two want in on this too?" Asked Homura. Matsu looked ecstatic.

"You'd really let Matsu do this and that with Mina-tan?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course, but I get first dibs." Replied Homura.

"Matsu is sooooo happy!" She squealed quietly as she took her clothes off.

"What are we doing?" Asked Akitsu.

"Jump first. Ask questions later." Explained Matsu as she jumped on Minato. Akitsu decided to follow her lead and see where it went.

Minato, due to not being able to talk the whole night, weather it be from shock or having his mouth blocked, had his first foursome that night.

In the morning, Minato was quick to change Homura's mind back to normal, and she was heavily mortified at what happened, as well as what her current shape was, and she took her anger out Matsu. Minato offered to change her body back to a less exaggerated figure, though she vehemently refused, saying that she didn't want to take any more chances. They all agreed to say that the only thing that happened last night was that Homura was turned into a girl. Tsukiumi was angry about having more competition, and jealous that Homura could just make her chest bigger whenever she wanted, calling it cheating. While Yukari was angry that such an incredible bishonen would give up his manhood to be with her brother.

* * *

**Night of December 24th - A Few Weeks After Sex With Matsu, Homura, and Akitsu**

_'Christmas Eve,'_ Thought Minato as he and Miya made sure that everyone was in their own rooms. It was a habit he developed due to all the nighttime visits he'd gotten recently. _'Hard to believe that just over a month ago I thought that the idea of having a peaceful life like this was a far fetched dream.'_ It was then he saw Kusano sneaking out of the room she shared with Miya.

"Where is she going?" Minato asked aloud.

"The dining room, most likely." Replied Miya, Minato looked at her quizzically. "Santa came in through there when 004 explained how he got Minaka arrested." Minato understood what she meant immediately.

"I'll go get her." He sighed, though Miya grabbed his sleeve to stop him. "Miya?"

"Minato, I'd like to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?"

"For everything. For all the work you do around the inn. For always looking out for others. For always being a gentleman. But most of all, I want to thank you for helping me find a second chance at love." Minato blushed slighty at this.

"You don't have to thank me for anything. I was just being myself, that's all." He noticed her glancing at her door.

"No Minato. You've given me so much. Even if you didn't mean to do it, I still have so much to thank you for. Minato, I know I've told you this before, but I love you," She glanced at her door again. "And I want you to know, that if you ever need or want anything from me, you just have to ask me, and I'll see what I can do." A small blush crawled onto her face, though Minato didn't notice.

"Thanks Miya. That means a lot to me."

"Is there... anything you want right now?" She asked, glancing at her door again, her blush deepened a fraction, and this time it didn't escape Minato.

"Miya... don't tell me that you want to..." He didn't dare say anything beyond that, for fear he might be wrong, and make Miya think he was a pervert. (Un)fortunately, however...

"Is it that obvious?"

"Somewhat." Minato replied uneasily, not wanting to explain **why** it was actually **painfully** obvious.

"Minato, you're very important to me, and I want you to know how much I care about you." She explained. "I know that this is very sudden, but I just feel like this is a good time for it for some reason."

Minato just stared at her. He wasn't the least bit embarrassed as some other guys would be in this situation, largely due to the fact that he was **far** from a virgin. _'She really seems to want this. Asking me for this must have taken a lot of courage and thought after all. She's done so much for me, so should I... Wait! This is Miya we're talking about! And she want's to... with me... but I've already-'_ Something suddenly clicked in his head. _'I've already done it. Six times in fact. And Miya's always been someone I could count on. She's always doing so much for everyone while asking for nothing in return. She's even let me and everyone else live here for much less than she could get by renting rooms out to someone else. If she wants this...'_

"Come on Miya." He said as he held out his hand. "Knowing Ku she'll be in the dining room all night." Miya looked stunned.

"Do you really mean it?" She asked as she took his hand.

"Yeah." He replied as he lead her to her room.

That night, Minato had sex willingly for the first time.

* * *

Hope you all like it!

And no! 004 is **not** the same 004 from Cyborg 009. His modifications are just the same. Meaning he has machine guns built into his right hand. A knife built into his left hand. And rocket launchers built into his legs.

He also has extending and retracting joints built into his elbows, knees, and torso, that allow him to adjust his height from anywhere between 4 foot 4, and 6 foot 6. Hence the 'original model number' part.

"One more thing!" The next chapter is going to be hilarious and touching, all at the same time. So please keep reading.

"One more thing!" Merry Christmas to all! And to all a goodnight!


	11. Chapter 11

Thank you all for waiting and reading. Here's part two of my last chapter. I own nothing.

"One more thing!" Where in the last chapter did it say that 004 left the Disciplinary Squad behind when he went back to space? You know who you are, and you shouldn't jump to conclusions!

"One more thing!" I'm making a few small edits to this chapter that will make it more convenient for me to write a sequel for this story if I ever feel like it.

* * *

**December 25th 1:00 p.m. - The Day After Sex With Miya**

"Where's Santa?" Asked Kusano for the 25th time that day as she sat down to the table.

"I don't know." Replied Chiho. "He said that he'd get us all a special present, but none of the gifts said they were from him."

"Maybe he forgot." Suggested Shiina.

"Santa would never forget!" Exclaimed Musubi. "He must just be a little late, that's all!"

"I still can't believe that the real Santa would come here, or that he even exists." Doubted Seo, who'd come over with Hikari and Hibiki for Christmas, or so he said. In truth, it was just because he saw it as an excuse to mooch food off of them. Even though he still had over two-thirds of the money from his last job as a freelancer, and was more than happy to go back to work at M.B.I. now that Takami was in charge, he still liked to avoid spending money whenever possible.

"It really happened!" Insisted Matsu.

"I hear bells." Said Kazehana randomly.

"You might want to get that checked." Said Homura.

"Wait, I hear them too." Said Tsukiumi.

"It's coming from the backyard." Pointed out Akitsu.

"It must be Santa!" Exclaimed Musubi and Kusano as they rushed out to check.

"Hey! Wait a second you two!" Exclaimed Minato as he followed after them.

"Do they really think that Santa would fly into our backyard in the middle of Christmas day?" Questioned Yukari.

"He said that he'd bring us all a special gift today, and it wasn't here when we all woke up, so I don't see why he wouldn't." Pointed out Miya.

"I still don't think-" Yukari began before...

"IT'S SANTA!" Came three exclamations from the backyard.

"SERIOUSLY!" Exclaimed Yukari, as she and everyone else ran outside. When they got there, they were amazed at what they saw.

Eight reindeer pulling what looked like a cross between a red sleigh and a limo, making a vertical landing in the backyard.

"Ho Ho Ho! How has everyone been these past few weeks?" Asked Santa as he hopped out of his sleigh.

"SANTA!" Exclaimed Musubi, Kusano, Tsukiumi, Kazehana, Uzume, Chiho, and Shiina as they rushed over to give the big man a group hug.

"I don't believe it." Breathed Seo, Hikari, and Hibiki in unison.

"It's good to see you again Santa." Greeted Miya. "And who is that riding with you?" She asked, pointing out the woman getting of the sleigh.

The woman, though looking like she was in her golden years, still managed to retain an air of youthfulness about her, and she wore a red outfit similar to Santa's, though without a hat.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet my wife, Claire." Said Santa.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Said Claire.

"You're Mrs. Clause!" Gasped Chiho.

"Yes I am," Confirmed Claire. "And my husband has told me all about what you've all been through. I can't imagine how hard you all must have had it. Especially you Miya. You have so much responsibility around your inn, and I can't imagine how I would feel if I ever lost my husband."

"It was rather difficult," Admitted Miya sadly. "Especially after Takehito passed. However, even though he's gone now, I've been able to move on."

**"And we're all glad that you have."** Came a voice from on top of Santa's sleigh.

"Ah, so you decided to come after all 004." Commented Santa when he heard him, not even having to see him to know who it was. Everyone looked up at the sleigh at this, and the sight that greeted them was not a pleasant one.

On top of the sleigh were three women and one man. Everyone easily recognized the three women as the Sekirei of the Disciplinary Squad immediately. Nobody but Musubi looked happy to see them. The man, however, was not what they expected. He wore a heavily padded green vest, black hakama (a type of Japanese pants), a white long coat that one would find the word 'Justice' emblazoned upon the back in kanji if you were to look, a long orange scarf, black boots, and a brown fedora. His hair was brown, curly, and worn in a long mullet, and he had a mustache, goatee combo. But his most striking feature, the one thing that really freaked people out, even more than the three women who were with him, was a scar that he had on his left cheek.

Or rather...

He had a scar...

Where his left cheek...

**Used to be**.

"Yo ho ho ho ho ho!" 004 threw back his head and laughed, a feat that was made gruesome by his half Glasgow Grin and the fact that he had opened his mouth as wide a possible. "How's everyone been?" Everyone was just shocked and appalled at the sight of his face. Kusano even cowered behind Minato. "Aw, come on now, you guys knew I was wearing a disguise when we last met." He said in an obviously fake offended tone. "Or did you all honestly think that I just so happened to look exactly like the real Natsuo?" No one was exactly sure how to respond to that, some decided to settle for getting into fighting stances. "Do you ladies really think that you should be fighting in your conditions?" He asked, raising some eyebrows.

"Conditions? What are you talking about?" Asked a confused Minato.

**"I wouldn't mind knowing that either." **Came a voice from behind them that Minato recognized instantly.

"Mom?" He asked as he turned around, and sure enough, there she was. "What are you doing here?"

"That nutcase up on the sleigh told me about how he ended the Sekirei Plan and got Minaka locked-up." She began. "Then he told me to come here at about 1:00 p.m., and I figured that I at least owe him that much for what he did for everyone."

"Yes, yes you do." Replied 004, prompting Takami to send a glare his way, but he paid it no mind.

**"I think I can answer your questions."** Came a voice from inside Santa's sleigh before someone stepped out of it, what they saw shocked everyone.

It was Minato!

Or not.

The man** looked** like Minato, but he was obviously a few years older and was sporting a goatee and suit.

"Man," The man said as he looked at Minato. "How many years has it been since I looked like that?" He asked.

"Wh-Who are you?" Minato asked the man.

"Isn't it obvious?" The man asked, only to receive a shake of the head in response. "I'm you." Everyone went wide-eyed at that.

"M-Me?" Stammered Minato, getting a nod in response. "B-But, how?"

"TIME TRAVEL!" Exclaimed 004 as he threw his hands in the air dramatically.

"WHAT?" Exclaimed almost everyone present.

"You-You mean that... that's Minato... from the future?" Asked Tsukiumi. She and everyone else were stunned. Minato's Sekirei, even Homura, had to admit that while their Minato was already pretty attractive, the future Minato was downright sexy. "When do we get married?" She exclaimed.

"What makes you so sure you're going to marry him?" Asked Haihane bluntly from atop the sleigh. "It's not like you can see the future."

"You don't know anything!" Exploded Tsukiumi. "What would you know about my relationship with Minato?"

"We know that he has seven other Sekirei to choose from." Said Benitsubasa in a mocking tone. "And most of them are better looking than you."

"Grrrrrr." Tsukiumi growled as she got really angry.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Asked Karasuba tauntingly. "If you keep making faces like that it may freeze that way or cause premature wrinkles." Tsukiumi quickly panicked and checked her face for freezing or wrinkles.

**"Papa! Can we come out now?"** Came two voices from the sleigh.

"Sure, I've got everyone warmed-up!" Responded Future Minato.

"Eh?" Went Present Minato.

All of a sudden, two little girls came out of the sleigh. The first person to comment...

"Musubi and Tsukiumi shrunk!" Exclaimed a panicked Musubi.

And it looked like they did. One girl looked like a young Musubi, wearing a white one-piece dress. While the other looked like a young Tsukiumi, wearing a black one-piece dress.

"You idiot!" Tsukiumi shouted at Musubi. "We didn't shrink! Those are... Those are..." Her entire face was suddenly bright red.

"That's right." Said Future Minato. "The one in white is named Yume, and she's mine and Musubi's daughter. While the one in black is named Nami, and she's mine and Tsukiumi's daughter." He explained as his two daughters waved at everyone. Everyone went wide-eyed again.

"Mine... Yours... Mine... Yours." Tsukiumi squeezed out, completely red in the face. Before rushing at and grabbing Present Minato by the collar. "Mi-na-to." She growled, striking fear and more confusion into him. "Why do you have a child with not only me, but Musubi as well? Am I not enough?"

"Musubi and Minato-sama's child!" Exclaimed Musubi excitedly from behind Tsukiumi, shocking her into letting go of him.

**"That's right."** Came two more new voices as two new people came out of the sleigh, though everyone was a bit less shocked this time.

"Look Tsukiumi! It's us!" Exclaimed Musubi, and this time she was right. Standing in front of the sleigh were the future Musubi and Tsukiumi. Though Musubi had replaced her pink dress with a red hakama, and Tsukiumi had lengthened her skirt to her ankles.

"Mama, is that lady in the pink dress really you?" Yume asked as her mother picked her up. "Why did she say you two shrunk?"

"Yes it's me." Future Musubi said. "Everyone says Musubi's never been very smart."

"Mama, why are you so angry at papa?" Asked Nami as her mother knelt down to her eye-level. "I thought you liked all of us being a big family."

"I was a much different person back then." Replied Future Tsukiumi. "I didn't like the idea of sharing your father with so many other people." This really turned some heads.

"So many... other people?" Asked Takami fearfully, not certain that she wanted to know what she meant by that.

**"I believe that's where we come in!"** Came another voice from the sleigh, as another woman came out of the sleigh.

"It's me!" Cheered Kazehana.

And it was. The only difference between the two was that Future Kazehana had added pink stockings to her outfit and was carrying what looked like a younger version of herself in a pink sundress.

"I sure am." Replied Future Kazehana. "And this little bundle of joy is Sakura." She said as she squeezed Sakura tighter.

"Mama, you're squishing me." Giggled Sakura. "I don't mind though, since you and all the other mamas do it to papa all the time." She said as she squeezed her mother's chest.

"Awww! She really takes after her mommy." Present Kazehana gushed.

"And her father too, if you catch my drift." Said Future Kazehana playfully as she winked at Present Minato, causing his face to burn and making Present Tsukiumi chew him out again, while Present Kazehana just giggled at what her future self had started.

**"I can't believe you would say something like that in front of children."** Came a scolding voice from the sleigh, as a young boy in rectangular glasses, a black suit and tie, and an orange, sharp, angular, military-style haircut walked out, with Future Matsu trailing behind.

"I can't believe you're my son, Tanaka." Retorted Future Matsu. "You're such a prude." She mumbled.

Matsu had radically changed her wardrobe over the years. Where once was a constant nightgown, now there were business clothes. She had also merged her twin braids and stray hair into one large braid that looked remarkably like a hanging noose, as the lengths of hair use to make it started by wrapping around her neck and then forming the braid in the front down to her midriff.

"I have to be with a mother like you." Retorted Tanaka as he adjusted his glasses. "If I left you to your own devices I'd have at least one sibling for every nine months of my life thus far."

"What's wrong?" Exclaimed Present Matsu. "Where did Matsu-tan go wrong with raising her child?" She sobbed.

"I tried my best." Sobbed Future Matsu as she hugged her past self.

"Hardly," Intervened Tanaka. "You tried to introduce me to an adult world at a three years of age. I hardly call that 'trying your best'."

Just as both Matsus were about to respond to that...

"I'd like to have a word with you two." Said Miya dangerously as she grabbed the two of them from behind.

"Just so you know, you're forced to start dressing conservatively after this talk with Miya." Future Matsu squeaked to Present Matsu, who just whimpered in response.

**"That was too funny!"** Came two **more** voices from the sleigh, right before two boys jumped out.

One had messy silver hair and wore a red t-shirt with the kanji for 'fire' on it in blue. While the other had messy tan hair and wore a blue t-shirt with the kanji for 'ice' on it in red. They both wore baggy purple pants and they both had the same huge grin on their faces. If you didn't know better, you'd say they were twins, in a way, they were.

The one with 'fire' on his shirt ran up to Homura and excitedly said. "Hi mom! My name's Sakazuki!"

The one with 'ice' on his shirt ran up to Akitsu and excitedly said. "Hi mom! My name's Kuzan!"

They both just stared at the boys in shock.

"My son?" Gasped Homura and Akitsu in unison. "With Minato?" They asked Sakazuki and Kuzan, who both just nodded. Homura and Akitsu fell on their buts in shock, again in unison.

**"Just like we remember it."** Came **yet another** two voices (in perfect unison) from the sleigh as Future Homura and Future Akitsu stepped out.

They looked almost identical. They both wore black kimonos, each with a Sekirei crest on each of the sleeves, each side of the chest, and if you looked, you'd find one on their backs as well. Future Homura's crests were blue and she had a fiery red dragon pattern below the waist of her kimono, while Future Akitsu's crests were red and she had an icy blue dragon pattern below the waist of her kimono, and their dragons perfectly mirrored each other. In other words, they were both wearing Kurotomesode, the most formal type of kimono that can be worn by married women, which shows great devotion to one's husband. Their future wardrobe filled both Present Homura and Present Akitsu with shock (though for entirely different reasons). Both of them wore their hair in the exact same, waist-length hair style, and they both wore the same soft expressions on their faces. If you looked closely enough, you'd see that even their height and three sizes were exactly the same. If one didn't know any better, they might mistake them for twins.

Future Homura walked over to her past self in perfect unison with Future Akitsu, swaying their hips seductively all the way, perfectly mirroring each other. Present Homura was gaping like a fish at the sight before her. "You** really** get in touch with your feminine side over the years." She explained happily as she led her son off by her left hand.

Future Akitsu walked over to her past self in perfect unison with Future Homura, swaying their hips seductively all the way, perfectly mirroring each other. Present Akitsu was gaping like a fish at the sight before her. "You **really **become happier because of your family over the years." She explained happily as she led her son off by her right hand.

Takami couldn't take it anymore, and fainted from shock (and with a nosebleed for some reason I'd rather not pry into). Though no one took notice aside from; Santa, Claire, 004, Karasuba, Haihane, Benistubasa, and all the travelers from the future, as the brains of everyone else had all momentarily stopped.

**"Is she okay?" **Came a panicked voice from the sleigh as Future Kusano rushed out to check on Takami.

"Huh?" Startled Present Minato as Future Kusano's voice snapped him out of his stupor.

"Takami. Takami! Are you alright?" Future Kusano asked as she gently shook Takami.

Minato couldn't help noticing Future Kusano's appearance. She wore a blue sailor uniform that was opened down to her midriff, exposing as much of her skin as both Kazehanas did. Her hair was just as long as ever, not the least bit different in length from Present Kusano. Her body had developed **very** well over the years, with a figure that could easily compare to his other Sekirei. And in her hands... In her hands?

"Wahhh!" Came a tiny cry from Future Kusano's arms.

"Oh-no!" Said Future Kusano worriedly. "I've gone and woken Aki." She started rocking something in her arms. Present Kusano snapped out of her trance and rushed over.

"Is that...?" Present Kusano asked her future self hopefully, who suddenly took notice of her presence.

"Oh, yes." Future Kusano replied. "Would you like to see her? Maybe you can get her to calm down." She held out the little bundle in her arms, revealing a baby that looked just like a tiny Kusano. "Her name is Aki. She's just a year old. Minato was so happy when she was born." Both Kusanos looked very happy, Aki was calming down in the presence of her two mothers, and Minato was having a mini freak out about the idea of having Kusano, who was so much younger than himself, eventually mothering one of his children.

**"Come on! Hurry up! Almost everyone else is already outside!"** Came an excited voice from the sleigh.

**"I'm coming Takehito, you know I can't move too fast like this."** Came Future Miya's voice.

"Takehito!" Gasped Present Miya as two people came out of the sleigh. The first one was a purple haired boy in a white kimono and purple hakama. The second was Future Miya, who was being led by the boy's hand. She was moving a little slow because...

"I don't believe it." Present Miya said breathlessly.

There was only one difference between Future Miya and Present Miya.

Future Miya was noticeably pregnant.

"Good afternoon." Future Miya said to her past self. "I assume that you already know who I am, so let me introduce you to my, I mean, our son, Takehito." She said as she gestured for Takehito to introduce himself.

"Good afternoon, mother." Takehito said as he gave he a polite bow. "My name is Takehito. I'm eight years old. My likes are my family and cooking. I have no dislikes aside from my grandfather, based on what you and father have told me of him. My mother is currently seven months along with my little sister. Thank you for having me, in more ways than one." He introduced himself politely, though joked at the end.

At first, Present Miya was stunned, but tears quickly started to well up in her eyes. "My boy." She cried out softly as she swiftly crouched down to hug Takehito, who was shocked at his mother's behavior. Present Minato, noticing this, quickly rushed over.

"Miya." He said as he lightly touched Present Miya's shoulder, causing her to startle and look and him.

"Minato." She breathed, before quickly catching him off guard by wrapping him in a hug. "Thank you Minato. Thank you so much." She cried into his shoulder. Minato, not sure what to do, just returned the hug, hoping it was the right thing to do.

"Wait a second!" Exclaimed Present Tsukiumi as she pointed at 004 in rage, snapping everyone out of their stupors, and drawing all attention to her. "All these kids! All these future versions of ourselves! What's going on here with all of them? Why does it seem like Minato is the father of all of them? Minato is my legal husband!" She tripped when she suddenly heard crying.

"Now look at what you did!" Scolded Future Kusano as she cradled her daughter. "You frightened Aki! There, there. It's okay." She reassured her daughter.

"But I... I." Said Present Tsukiumi, trying to find words again, and failing miserably. When all of a sudden her future self walk up to her and firmly grasped her by the shoulders.

"Look," Future Tsukiumi began sternly. "I've lived this before, so I know you're more than a little bitter about sharing Minato with seven other women, but you eventually come to love it just as much as everyone else does." She noticed her past self looked mortified at the idea of being okay with sharing Minato. "Besides, there's not much you can do anyway. Aside from Kusano, every one of you is already pregnant." She realized her blunder too late, and quickly covered her mouth, obviously getting the same idea that, many years ago from her perspective, Minato had when his first six Sekirei had been place in his room by 004.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Seethed Takami (who had just woken up) furiously.

"Yo ho ho ho ho ho!" Laughed 004. "Looks like Tsukiumi said something she shouldn't have! I though you said that you've lived this before? Oh well, you all would've found out soon enough anyway, I suppose. The whole 'you being pregnant' thing was the condition you're all in that I mentioned earlier."

"They're... all..." Minato started before Yukari tackled him to the ground and shook him furiously.

"Pervert! Pervert! Idiot brother! What the hell is wrong with-!" Yukari ranted before...

**"You hardly have room to talk, you know." **Came a new voice from the sleigh.

"What was-!" Yukari began angrily before she stopped in shock.

It was Future Yukari.

"I said that you hardly have room to talk." Said Future Yukari. "After that drunken roll in the hay with Shiina a few weeks back, you're in the same boat as they are."

Future Yukari had only grown a few cm taller over the years. She had let her hair grow out and styled it just like Miya's. She was also wearing a tan maternity dress, for obvious reasons.

Present Yukari just stared at her future self for a few seconds before she squeaked. "I'm pregnant." Weather she was referring to her present self, her future self, or both, no one was sure.

**"Yeah, sorry about that."** Came a sheepish voice from behind Yukari as Future Shiina came out from behind her.

He, like most other Sekirei, hadn't changed his outfit much over the years, though he had added a brown fedora to his wardrobe. However, in contract to the fact that his clothes looked the same, he obviously had to get bigger clothes over the years. Because he now stood at a staggering height of 200cm! How he'd managed to hide behind Future Yukari was beyond anyone present. Holding onto his hand was a boy with spiky gray hair, a black t-shirt and hakama, and a scowl on his face. Present Yukari just pointed and stared, mouth agape.

"Kazehana spiked our drinks with alcohol that night, so it's really no one's fault except her's." Future Shiina explained.

"Um," Began Present Shiina nervously. "Is that really? I mean... Is she really? I mean... You're really tall." He was having a hard time finding what to say.

"Did I really used to be this easily flustered?" Future Shiina asked himself. "Well, since everyone else seems to be introducing their kids, I'd like to introduce you to our son Ichigo." He said as he brought the gray-haired child forward.

"Ichigo!" Exclaimed Present Kazehana. "You two named your **son** Ichigo! That's too funny!" She bent over laughing.

"Shut up!" Exclaimed Ichigo. "My parents wanted a girl, okay! At least Ichigo can also be read as guardian!"

**"The brat really doesn't like it when people bring up his name."** Guess what? Another new voice from the sleigh! As if we didn't have enough of that already. This time it was a boy with scraggly tan hair who looked a bit younger than the other children. He had on long, baggy, tan pants with lots of pockets, a black vest over a white t-shirt, and a black tricorne hat, all of which looked somewhat worn-out.

**"Newgate, don't tease your older brother." **Scolded Future Mutsu as he came out of the sleigh. The only thing he'd changed over the years was that he wore a white undershirt under his coat now. Present Yukari and Present Mutsu stared in shock when they heard what he said. Unsurprisingly, Present Yukari was the first to speak.

"What kind of name is Newgate?" She scoffed.

"You got a problem with the name **you **gave me old lady?" Asked Newgate teasingly.

"Hey! Don't call me old! I'm only 18!"

"He was born while we were vacationing in the Caribbeans." Future Mutsu explained. "It seemed like a good name at the time." Present Mutsu walked over to his future self.

"What happened?" He asked, calmly but sternly. Future Mutsu sighed at this.

"Yukari is a really amazing woman once you get to know her." Was his response. Present Mutsu seemed to accept it as he just nodded and walked off.

"Wait a second!" Exclaimed Takami. "Could we please get back to the p-p-p-pregnant thing already?"

"She's right." Agreed 004. "If nobody explains how it all happened, I'm pretty sure that Takami's gonna pop a blood vessel or two." Takami sent another glare his way, and again he paid it no mind. "Don't worry, the future people already explained how it all happened to me, so I'll sum it all up for everyone. In this order. Kazehana got drunk on the night Santa dropped off Mutsu and Akitsu and decided to sleep with Minato. Shiina and Yukari had their drinks spiked by Kazehana that same night and woke-up in the same bed the next morning. Musubi and Tsukiumi got pretty tipsy the night I announced Minaka's arrest and decided to 'wrestle' over Minato, and then **with **Minato. I also gave a letter to Kazehana that day, explaining her condition to her so that she wouldn't drink. Homura decided **he **wanted to be a **she** so she could be with Minato, but Minato accidentally, temporarily made her a slut because he just happened to think about his previous sexual encounters recently when he changed **him** into a **her**. Matsu had dragged Akitsu along with her to sneak into Minato's room that night when they saw what was going on, and Matsu decided to jump in while dragging Akitsu along again. Miya just asked for it, and Minato consented. Mutsu let things develop naturally with Yukari. Minato did it with Kusano once she was eighteen. And seven months ago, future time, Minato and Yukari agreed with their Sekirei to have one more child every nine months with each of their Sekirei in increasing order of their numbers, except for Homura and Akitsu, and Musubi and Tsukiumi, who wanted to share their turns." He finished in front of a baffled audience.

"Matsu, Kazehana." Began Present Miya dangerously. "We will be having a serious talk after everyone leaves."

"Why just us?" Whined Matsu. "Everyone else slept with Mina-tan. And what about Shiina and Yukari?"

"True, but Musubi, Tsukiumi, Homura, Shiina, and Yukari weren't in control of their actions. Akitsu is still too naive about such matters to be held fully accountable for her actions. And everyone else had mutual consent." She explained. "And don't even think about bringing up your condition during that time Kazehana. You got many other people drunk as well, so you have no excuse." She added angrily.

"No." Takami whispered as she dropped to her knees. "No, no, no, no, no, no, nooooo~." She said in hysterics as she fell to her hands. "Where did I go wrong? Where did I go wrong?"

**"You didn't go wrong anywhere."** This is the last time people will be getting out of the sleigh, I swear. It was Future Uzume, Future Chiho, and a blond haired girl in a yellow sundress.

"You did a great job raising Minato and Yukari." Said Future Uzume, who was wearing her old fighting outfit. "They're just the kind of people who have too much love in their hearts for just one person."

"And if it makes you feel any better, you've been doing a great job as my foster mother, and as a grandma." Said Future Chiho, who had only had a moderate development in both her height and figure, and was wearing a red and green maternity dress for obvious reasons.

"Takami adopts me!" Exclaimed Present Chiho, receiving a nod from her future self.

"She was pretty eager to have a child that she considers 'normal', and you should have seen her face when Chizuru was born." Future Uzume explained as she ushered the little girl forward.

"Hello mamas!" Chizuru said happily as she hugged Present Uzume and Present Chiho. If there were any straight faces on anyone who wasn't already aware of the whole story, they were gone now.

"How can we... Have a child?" Present Chiho asked Present Uzume.

"I believe that's where I come in." Said 004 before he jumped off the sleigh, flipped through the air rapidly, landed right in front of Present Uzume and Present Chiho and handed them a colorfully wrapped box about the size and shape of a box of tissues. "This is something I saw while working in a lesbian neighborhood about 400 light-years from here and it made me think of you two. It'll let you have little Chizuru here." He said as her ruffled Chizuru's hair, before quietly adding. "Just make sure you read the instructions carefully and have Uzume have the first kid. Chiho's body still needs a few more years of recovery from her sickness before she's ready to bear a child." The two girls just stared at him for a moment before turning to each other.

"A child... Us?" Asked Present Chiho tensely.

"Well... If you want to have it... I'd be more than happy to carry it for both of us." Answered Present Uzume just as tensely.

They both broke out in huge smiles.

"Well, now that that's all taken care of, it's time for Santa to deliver that special Christmas present that he promised." Said 004 happily.

"Well, I suppose it is." Replied Santa as he walked into Izumo Inn. "Everyone go to the dining room and you'll all see the present I have for you all."

"Hey, wait a minute! What about the future me?" Asked Seo. He had been somewhat skeptical of all of this 'Santa', 'alien', and 'time travel' business at first, but he had to admit that the evidence was now overwhelming.

"The future you is too busy working to take care of his family to attend." Explained 004. "You have two ladies that each had twins with you. That takes up a lot of time and work."

"Two sets of twins!" Exclaimed Seo, Hikari, and Hibiki in unison.

"Yep." Replied 004. "Hikari and Hibiki are housewives now, or rather, they will be, and they said something about not wanting to relive the embarrassment of Seo's former perverted ways. All your kids are girls, and all four of them were born on the same day, not to mention that you're already further along with them in this time than any of these other ladies."

"Already... Further along." Squeezed out the three of them in unison, before...

"You idiot!" Growled Hikari as she violently shook Seo. "If you spent less time messing around with us, and more time working, this wouldn't have happened! Do you have any idea how much time, money, and work it takes to look after **one** child, let alone **FOUR!**"

"I'm going to be a mother." Whimpered Hibiki as she clutched her stomach.

"My future family said that they just didn't feel like attending in case anyone was wondering." Said 004, a little hurt that no one had asked him about it.

"The dining room is ready!" Came Santa's voice from inside.

"That old man doesn't honestly think we can all fit in the-the-the." Takami stammered out when she opened the door to the dining room. When everyone else saw it, their minds went blank as well.

Where once was a modest sized dining room with enough food to feed a small army, there was now a vast dining hall, filled with tons of food. There were; turkeys, potatoes, peas, sushi, rice, all manner of Scottish sausages, ham, tofu, nine types of cookies, eight types of juice, seven types of tea, six types of soda, five types of pizza, four types of pie, thee types of cake, two types of milk, and a massive chocolate fountain (the last part is a play on the 12 Days of Christmas in case you couldn't tell). The whole room was decked out in a Christmas theme. With; wreathes, colored lights, Christmas trees, a wide array of toys and video games, and almost everything was green and red, though there were no mistletoe, as Santa knew what would happen if he had put them in.

"My husband always did know how to maximize space." Commented Claire.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Said Santa happily.

"Even though I've seen this before, it still takes my breath away." Said Future Minato. "Well what's everyone waiting for, a written invitation? Let's eat!"

"Sounds good to me." Said Benitsubasa as she tried to walk in, only to be stopped by Present Miya. "What's the big idea?"

"The Disciplinary Squad are not allowed in my inn." She said firmly.

"The Sekirei Plan is over, so the Disciplinary Squad is disbanded." Pointed out Haihane. "The only reason that we've stayed together is because of 004." She sighed as she hugged his arm.

"Don't get any ideas!" Growled Benitsubasa as she clung onto 004's other arm. "I may have to share him with you, but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"If your future self were here she'd probably say that she liked sharing him." Haihane teased. Benistubasa was about to retort when...

"Come on Miya," Said Karasuba sweetly, though it sounded sarcastic. "Don't you think you're being a bit cruel. Keeping food and warmth away from three women, each with child." Almost everyone's eyes shot wide open at that.

"Karasuba's gonna be a mommy too?" Asked Present Musubi excitedly.

"That's right Musubi." Replied Karasuba. "According to Santa, it happened yesterday for all three of us."

"How can he be so sure then?" Scoffed Present Tsukiumi quietly.

"He's Santa. Duh!" Replied 004. "I wanted them to have a Merry Christmas Eve, and I guess I went a little overboard. Yo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho."

"How was he?" Asked Present Kazehana playfully. Benitsubasa, Haihane, and even Karasuba all blushed and looked away at that question, telling Kazehana all she needed to know. "Was he really that good?" Present Miya whacked her on the head with a ladle for that.

"You will not speak like that in front of the children." She scolded, a small blush crawled up her neck when she said 'children', though no one noticed it, and if anyone did they didn't point it out. She was about to tell 004 and his Sekirei to celibrate their Christmas elsewhere when her future self grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Keep in mind that Matsu, Kazehana, Mutsu, and yourself caused just as much harm as they did in the past, and yet you are all living here happily." Future Miya whispered to her past self.

"Very well." Present Miya relented after a tense moment. "However. If I catch **any **of you trying anything, I won't hesitate to throw you all out." She said fiercely.

"Why you little-" Benitsubasa began before...

"We can consent to that." Intervened Karasuba.

"We're incredibly outnumbered and outmatched." Said Haihane. "We'd have to be stupid to try anything."

"So I guess that means you'd probably do something get yourself killed, huh." Scoffed Benitsubasa.

"Haihane might say the same about you." Said 004.

"H-How could you say that about me? I thought you said you loved me." Whined a stunned Benitsubasa.

"And I do." Answered 004. "I'm just saying how Haihane would probably respond to your comment." Benitsubasa sent a hard glare at Haihane.

"Excuse me," Intervened Karasuba. "But while you three were having your fun, everyone else has already gone inside." She pointed out.

"What!" Exclaimed Benitsubasa. "Save me some of that chocolate fountain!"

"It's gonna go right to her thighs." Chuckled Haihane.

"Well, she has to make up for her chest somewhere." Mumbled 004, causing Haihane to double her chuckles.

* * *

**Christmas Party - Both Musubis and Tsukiumis**

"I don't understand," Growled Present Tsukiumi. "How could I be okay with sharing **my** Minato?"

"At first you're not to happy about it." Said Future Tsukiumi. "But once the kids are born you begin to see polygamy in a new light. It'll take awhile, but you'll get used to it." Present Tsukiumi was about to retort when...

"Where do babies come from anyway?" Asked Present Musubi.

"Wh-Where do they come from?" Stammered a red-faced Present Tsukiumi. "Y-You don't even know th-that much?" Present Musubi just shook her head.

"It's best if Musubi figures it out herself." Future Musubi said cheerfully. "Trust Musubi, when the time comes, Musubi will know."

"Musubi is right!" Said Present Musubi with a passionate fire in her eyes. "Musubi must find this out for herself if Musubi is to be a true mother!"

"That's right!" Said Future Musubi with an equally passionate fire in her eyes. "Musubi and Yume will be waiting for Musubi to find out where babies come from!" Both Tsukiumis just stared at the Musubis.

"Musubi's just as dumb as ever in the future." Present Tsukiumi murmured to her future self.

"Not really," Future Tsukiumi replied. "She's learned how to make foods besides curry, if that counts for anything."

They both agreed that it didn't.

"But I still don't understand how I could possibly be okay with sharing Minato." Sighed Present Tsukiumi.

"It wasn't easy. The only reason that you can stand it is because of the strong bonds that you have with the others." Pointed out Future Tsukiumi. "So if any other woman thinks that they're good enough for Minato, they're in for a rude awakening!" She declared fiercely.

"Well at least we limit the damage." Consented Present Tsukiumi.

* * *

**Christmas Party - Both Homuras and Akitsus**

"How did **this** happen?" Asked Present Homura as she gestured at her future self.

"How did what happen?" Asked Future Homura and Future Akitsu in unison.

"You know very well what." Seethed Present Homura. "Even though I owned-up to my feelings for Minato, how did I end up so... so..."

"Girly?" Present Akitsu supplied, much to Present Homura's displeasure.

"We prefer the term womanly." Their future selves said.

"Will you two please stop talking in unison?" Asked Present Homura bitterly.

"Sorry. But it's a habit of ours." They answered.

"And exactly how did this 'habit' get started?"

"I'm curious too." Added Present Akitsu. "You two are so much alike."

"We're not sure how it got started ourselves." Began the two future women. "Our sons were born on the same day, and they always spend their time together, so we followed suit. We work at the same place. We sleep in the same room. We like the same foods. We bathe together. It could be because of any or all of these things, or perhaps something else entirely. It's even gotten to the point where we don't feel right if we're not together."

"And what about me being 'womanly'?" Spat Present Homura.

"And why am I so cheerful?" Asked Present Akitsu.

"We guess it just came from our love of Minato and from spending so much time together." Their future selves guessed.

"I guess I can kinda understand that..." Sighed a now depressed Homura. "But do you have to wear those clothes?"

"I like them." Said Present Akitsu.

"And so do we. We're glad that we were able to get a 'two for one' deal since our sizes are the same"

"Even your sizes are the same." Trembled Present Homura.

"That's a nice coincidence." Commented Present Akitsu.

"Not really. Awhile ago we decided to become the same size since we're so close, so we had Minato change my/Homura's sizes and height to match Akitsu's/mine." Their future selves explained.

"I don't know weather to be thankful that you two finally didn't talk in unison for a few words, or mortified that I would do something like that." Muttered Present Homura sarcastically.

"I didn't know that Minato could change your sizes." Said Present Akitsu.

"Didn't you notice my sudden growth a few weeks ago?" Present Homura asked bitterly.

"You grew?" Present Akitsu said as she studied Present Homura and then herself, it seems that she honestly hadn't noticed the change until now. "I don't think that we're the same size yet. Should we have Minato change you now?"

_'Shoot me.'_ Thought Present Homura, almost completely seriously.

* * *

**Christmas Party - Both Kazehanas and Matsus**

"Soooo~, what are the three-ways like?" Asked Present Kazehana of her future self as if it were a completely normal and innocent question (which to these people it probably is).

"Ohhh, those are good, but I'm not giving away any spoilers." Teased Future Kazehana to her, now pouting past self.

"Awww! Come on!" Whined Present Kazehana. "Musubi, Tsukiumi, Matsu, Homura, and Akitsu all know what they're like. So why can't you tell me? You're me after all."

"Sorry," Said Future Matsu. "But we all agreed that we would tell you as little about the future as we could."

"You're just saying that because you've already had a foursome in this time." Mumbled Present Kazehana as she gave a mild glare to Present Matsu.

"Don't look at Matsu!" She said defensively. "Mina-tan wasn't even being very cooperative." She mumbled.

"The only one in the present who **would** know what Minato's like when he's actually trying is Miya, and I don't think that she'd be willing to talk." Complained Present Kazehana with a dramatic sigh.

"I'm sorry," Apologized Future Kazehana. "But even though we won't tell you about our sex lives, it doesn't mean that we can't tell you about 'other things'."

"What kind of 'other things' did you have in mind?" Asked a suddenly very curious Present Kazehana.

"Oh, just the three sizes of all of Mina-tan's Sekirei." Said Future Matsu.

"Tell us!" Said Present Kazehana and Present Matsu in unison.

"Alright then, let's just see..." Said Future Matsu as she pulled out a slip of paper from her cleavage and laid it on the table in front of them. It read.

Musubi: B 99 / W 59 / H 92

Kusano: B 95 / W 57 / H 89

Matsu: B 97 / W 59 / H 92

Tsukiumi: B 96 / W 58 / H 91

Kazehana: B 101 / W 60 / H 97

Homura: B 93 / W 57 / H 90

Miya: B 89 / W 57 / H 88

Akitsu: B 93 / W 57 / H 90

"Wow! I hit 101! That's incredible!" Said Present Kazehana excitedly. "Not to mention that I get pretty heavy in the hips too, I'll bet that Minato really likes that! Poor Tsukiumi though, all these years, and she's still 3 cm behind Musubi."

"Look at Homura and Akitsu, they're exactly the same." Pointed out Present Matsu.

"That's because they've grown so close to each other over the years that Homura decided to ask Minato to make her the same size and height as Akitsu." Said Future Kazehana mischievously.

"Lucky." Sighed Present Kazehana. "If I could do that I'd ask Minato to make mine even bigger." She said as she groped herself.

"How much bigger do you want to get?" Asked Present Matsu in astonishment.

"I don't know, but I'd know once I got big enough." She replied.

"You get that big once you hit 100, though the extra cm didn't hurt. Not to mention that Minato sure seems to like them." Said Future Kazehana playfully as she groped herself.

"Ohhh~, I can't wait until we're doing it for recreation!" Sighed Present Kazehana lovingly.

* * *

**Christmas Party - Both Kusanos and Miyas**

"Do those two talk about anything that isn't so lewd?" Asked Present Miya as she overheard both Matsus and Kazehanas.

"They do, however, they're few and far between." Replied Future Miya.

"That makes sense." Consented Present Miya. "What about Minato?"

"What do you mean?"

"He has a child with Kusano. I had no idea he was someone who would do that." Present Miya had whispered, however both Kusanos had heard her anyway.

"We could say the same about you, Miya." Commented Future Kusano bitterly, with her past self nodding in agreement. "You're much older than Minato is. So who are you to say something like that about Minato?" Present Miya was about to reply to Future Kusano when...

"Kusano poses a very good point." Said Future Miya. "If we're allowed to have children with Minato, then she certainly should be as well." She rubbed her swollen belly lovingly to emphasize her point.

"I suppose you're right." Consented Present Miya. "Still, it's rather fun to tease Minato." She whispered to her future self, making sure that neither Kusano overheard this time.

"Not really." Said Future Miya, much to the shock of her past self. "You find 'other ways' to have fun with Minato in the future."

"What?" Gasped Present Miya.

"It's true." Said Future Kusano as she rocked Aki in her arms. "If 004 hadn't completely soundproofed all the rooms at Izumo Inn the night Santa dropped off Mutsu and Akitsu, everyone would be kept up at night half of the time because of the noises inside of Minato's room every few nights."

"004 did what?" Asked Present Kusano asked, as Present Miya was still too stunned to speak.

"He soundproofed all the rooms at the inn while everyone was outside at the picnic." Repeated Future Kusano. "If he hadn't, someone would've heard what was happening all those nights when Minato was-"

"Please, no more." Present Miya requested (more like demanded since she had brought out her mask). "I accept that time can change people, but while you're in **my inn** in **my time** I will not permit such topics being discussed."

"If it makes you feel any better we don't let anyone talk about such things at Izumo Inn in the future either." Comforted Future Miya.

"At least that much doesn't change." Sighed Present Miya. "I just have one more question."

"What is it?" Asked Future Kusano.

"Do you always go around dressed so scandalously?" She asked her. "It's bad enough that Kazehana wears such revealing clothing normally, but I can't believe that I would allow you to dress like that."

"You don't," Replied Future Kusano. "Whenever I leave the house you make me bind my breasts and close my shirt so I don't attract too much attention." Present Kusano pouted at Present Miya at that.

"That's good to know." Said Present Miya.

* * *

**Christmas Party - Both Shiinas and Mutsus**

"I can't believe this is happening." Sighed Present Shiina.

"It doesn't make a difference weather you believe it or not." Pointed out Future Shiina. "The fact stands that Yukari's pregnant, and we're the ones who did it."

"Kazehana's just the kind of person to get someone drunk for no reason." Said Present Mutsu evenly.

"You're taking this a lot better than I am." Noticed Future Shiina.

"Of course." Said Future Mutsu. "You've known me long enough to know that I've always taken things in stride."

"What am I going to do?" Sighed Present Shiina as he bit into a piece of pie.

**"Well for starters," **Came a voice from behind Present Shiina, causing him to choke a little on his pie. **"You might want to figure out how to look after my daughter and eventual grandson."**

"Ta-Takami!" Gasped Present Shiina as he got his breathing back to normal. "What are you talking about?"

"How do you plan to look after Yukari?" She rephrased. "You didn't honestly think that your M.B.I. card would work forever, did you? I've canceled most of them already since the Sekire Plan is over. The only reason I have yet to cancel the cards owned by the Sekirei living here is because I consider all of you family, but I'm still going to cancel them eventually."

"You don't have to worry about that." Said Present Mutsu, drawing some eyes. "I had a feeling that you might do that eventually when 004 explained how he ended the Sekirei Plan, so I started writing a book. It's almost complete, and I'm rather satisfied with it. I just need to proofread it, take it to a publisher, and hope for the best."

"It gets great reviews in case you were wondering" Commented Future Mutsu. "I've actually finished negotiating the movie rights for it just a few months ago. They even say that it might make film noir popular in Japan."

"Glad to see that you're prepared." Commented Takami. "Though I still expect you to get a job too." She said sternly to Present Shiina, who vigorously nodded his head.

* * *

**Christmas Party - Both Minatos and Yukaris**

"How in the world did this happen?" Sighed Present Minato.

"Shut-up!" Scoffed Present Yukari. "Like you have room to talk! You have no idea how much childbirth hurts."

"Neither do you." Pointed out Future Minato.

"Well I'm going to find out pretty soon thanks to **your **Sekirei!" Growled Present Yukari.

"Don't pretend you didn't like it." Teased Future Yukari.

"H-How can you say that?" Startled Present Yukari. "Since when do you-I side with my brother?"

"Since he finally grew a spine." Replied Future Yukari. "Raising so many kids, and pleasing so many women has that effect on people."

"And how do** you** deal with giving birth? I've heard that it hurts like hell!"

"Yeah, it's as bad as everyone says and then some. But it's worth it." Said Future Yukari to her grumbling past self as she rubbed her swollen belly.

"Why don't we adjourn to the backyard while those two have their little squabble." Whispered Future Minato to his past self, who jumped at the chance to leave.

* * *

**Outside With Both Minatos**

"So, what do I want to talk to myself about?" Asked Future Minato once they were outside.

"Well..." Began Present Minato nervously. "When did I, you, **we**, get so..." He trailed off.

"So what? So handsome? So lucky? So confident?"

"The last one."

"I'm not gonna lie to ya." Began Future Minato, who'd suddenly taken on a serious tone. "The road from the nervous, nearly useless, underconfident, and likable person you are now, to the easygoing, successful, and confident lady-killer I am in my time isn't gonna be short, easy, or fun. It's going to be long, hard, and rewarding. There will be many tough times, and it's going to be especially hard for the first few years. But trust me when I tell you that it's going to pay off in many, many, **many **ways."

Present Minato felt thankful to his future self. He told him straight up that his future wouldn't be easy, and didn't sugar coat it at all. He was about to thank him when...

"Here." Future Minato said as he gave a pencil and paper to his stunned past self.

"What's this for?"

"For taking notes. You've got a lot to learn, and you're gonna want all the advice you can get." Future Minato said in a very serious tone. "For starters, Yume and Nami are a **lot** like their mothers and they both try to outdo each other as 'daddy's little girl' so **don't** give an inch to either of them or you'll have some serious collateral damage to pay for. Sakura likes to cuddle and always tries to sneak into your room at night, so getting a lock for your door **and** windows is a **must** since she can just fly into your room. Make sure someone **always** keeps an eye on Sakazuki and Kuzan, or else the neighbors will start asking a **lot** of questions. Make sure that Tanaka understands that he is to use his computer skills to get **everyone** in the city out of paying their taxes, or else the government **will** get suspicious of **you** and they **will** start asking questions. And **please** keep Aki **away** from **any** plants, she may be a baby, but that just means that she has less control over her powers than **her mother** does in this time. And have you heard a word I've said?"

"Huh! What?" Startled Present Minato, his future self just sighed.

"Alright," Sighed Future Minato. "I'm gonna say it again, but this time,** listen** and **take notes**."

* * *

**I'm skipping everyone else, since I'm running out of time, and I've run out of ideas.**

* * *

End of the Party - 3:00 p.m.

"Well, it's been fun, but it's time for us to get home." Said Future Minato as he got into the sleigh.

"Awww, do you really have to go?" Whine Present Kazehana. "I really wanted to spend some more 'quality time' with everyone." Present Miya whacked her on the head with her ladle for that.

"When will you learn your lesson?" Chuckled Present Miya playfully, though everyone could see the hidden intent behind it.

"Don't you have **your own** Minato for that?" Said Future Kazehana playfully. Future Miya whacked her on the head with her ladle for that.

"Sorry, but it seems that she never learns her lesson." Sighed Future Miya.

"By the way Minato," Said 004. "I have a special Christmas present for you."

"Oh, I've **gotta** see your reaction when he shows it to you." Said Future Minato as he jumped out of the sleigh. "I've been told it was priceless, but I'm not exactly able to see my own face."

"Come on Minato. Follow me." Ushered 004 as he dragged Present Minato back into the house, everyone else followed to see what was going to happen.

"Wait! What is-?" Present Minato began before he was cut off.

"If I told you what it was it wouldn't be much of a Christmas present would it?" 004 said as he opened the front door and showed him the last thing he was expecting.

_**A black Luxury Cadillac.**_

"Merry Christmas, Minato!" Exclaimed 004.

"Wha-What the...?" Present Minato squeezed out before...

*Snap*

"Oh man! That was priceless!" Laughed Future Minato. "I'm **so **glad I got that on camera!"

"Wow~!" Went Present Shiina. "With a ride like that, people are gonna call you a **huge** big-shot."

"I'd say that he's already pretty big, wouldn't you?" Whispered Present Kazehana to Present Matsu, who just nodded dumbly.

"That is one sweet ride." Gasped Present Homura and Present Akitsu in unison before they stared at each other awkwardly.

"The Gadgetmobile is a better ride." Said Seo.

Everyone else wasn't talking, either because they already knew about this, they just couldn't find any words, or in Present Mutsu's case, just didn't feel like commenting. Everything was silent until...

**"WHAT THE HELL?"** Exclaimed Present Yukari. "Why the hell does my brother get a sweet ride like this? He doesn't even know how to drive!"

"He can learn." Pointed out 004. "Anyway, this car is called Griffon. Here's the instructions, the security system, the remote control, and the key." He said as he plied in Present Minato's arms; a magazine-sized, paperback book, a large remote with just a button or two on it, a watch, and a pen, in that order. "You're going to want to read the instructions first, because this thing is pretty tricky to use."

"Wa-Wait a second!" Panicked Present Minato. "I-I can't accept this! It must have cost a fortune and-!"

"Not at all." Retorted 004. "For eight years now I've been building and rebuilding all sorts of cars belonging to some friends of mine from spare parts and scrap like crazy. You could call it a hobby. If I focus on my work it usually only takes me a week. If I get side-tracked, it takes me about a month. Either way this car would only collect dust if I didn't give it to someone since I had already built one for myself months ago. This one was made specifically for you. Though if you'd prefer something else, like a DeLorean that's been tricked out in all the right ways, or a Gadgetmobile like the one I gave Seo, that could be arranged."

"But-But-But..." Present Minato stammered before Seo slapped him on the back.

"Kid, this guy gives away things like cars and cash like they're going out of style." Seo explained. "I have a feeling that he's got enough cash to buy a hundred of these things, easy."

"Well, my basement **is **basically a swimming pool full of cash." 004 explained, shocking everyone present.

"A swimming pool... full of cash?" Said Seo hungrily, yen signs in his eyes.

"Look! An alien spacecraft!" Exclaimed 004 as he pointed back at the inn. Normally that wouldn't get much of a reaction, but since 004 actually **was** an alien, it worked. However, what they saw wasn't a spaceship, it was...

"What happened to my inn?" Gasped Present Miya.

"Do you like it?" Asked Santa. "After I turned the dining room back to normal, Izumo Inn seemed rather small, so I added a much needed expansion to it."

And expand it he had. Izumo Inn looked almost the same as it did before. The only difference was that four floors had been added.

"I thought that with the little ones on the way, you could use some more room." Explained Claire. "So I asked my husband to add a few more floors to the inn. That way the little ones would have some rooms of their own, and you could rent out the rooms that weren't going to be used by your children. Something tells me that you're going to need the extra money."

For a few moments, there was stunned silence, until someone spoke.

"Thank you." Said Present Miya. "Raising so may kids in such a small inn does seem foolish doesn't it? And the extra income will be very much appreciated."

"Think nothing of it." Replied Santa. "Now, I believe that it's time for everyone to go home now." He said as he touched his pinky to his nose, and; he, Claire, and everyone from the future suddenly vanished.

"That was... odd." Said Kazehana.

"Though not entirely unexpected." Observed Homura and Akitsu in unison, causing them to look at each other in shock (though for different reasons).

"There's still something weird though." Said Mutsu as he turned to 004. "You said that technology on Earth only became advanced enough to travel here a few years ago, yet you said that you've been building cars for eight years. Why is that?" He questioned.

"Normally one would see no need to ask a question like that, as it has no real impact on them." Retorted 004. "However, given the fact that it would be illegal for me to set foot on this planet a few years ago and actually **see** a car, it's somewhat understandable that you'd have reason to ask that question and wonder about my morals regarding the law."

"Actually I don't really care about your morals," Deadpanned Mutsu. "I'm just curious to see if you have any more good lines or plot twists to use. I've already put a few that you've pulled into my book, and I'm considering writing as a full-time profession."

"You're pretty witty yourself." Replied 004 as he held up his right fist. "To answer your question in the coolest way possible, similar environments, lead to similar evolution, lead to similar people, lead to similar technologies." He said as he turned up one mechanical finger every time he said 'similar'. "In other words, there are many planets with similar or the same species on them. Humans, the Sekirei, and myself are proof of that. Though I guess my appearance is a little different yours." He finished jokingly.

"You're different than us?" Asked Minato disbelievingly. "How?"

"Take a look at this." He said as he took of his hat, revealing...

"You have cat ears?" Said Uzume. 004 got angry at this.

"Wolf ears! Wolf! My people evolved from canines, not felines!" He barked as he bared more of his teeth, making people take notice of just how big his canines really were. "The reason I wear a mullet and hat is so that no one notices that my ears are on top of my head instead of the sides! I care about fashion after all! Ask anybody and they'll tell you that wolf ears and a half Glasgow Grin don't mix!" Karasuba decided that she'd had enough and grabbed him by his ear and gave it a firm tug. "Ow! Ow! Ow! You know my ears are sensitive!"

"Sorry everyone," Said Karasuba. "But as you can see he's pretty sensitive about his ears. I think it's about time we **leave**." She said as she gave another less that gentle tug on his ear.

"Oro! Okay okay. We're leaving." Said 004 as a bright light engulfed him and his Sekirei before they disappeared.

"Well they're dysfunctional." Scoffed Yukari after an awkward silence.

"Yeah, well so are we." Pointed out Kazehana as they all went inside.

* * *

**Future**

"Did we really have to leave before 004 took off his hat?" Asked Kazehana after everyone had gotten the kids to settle down and go off and play. "Watching him blow-up about his ears was so funny the first time."

"Sorry Kazehana, but it was time for us to leave." Said Minato. "Besides, I still have papers to grade, anyway."

"And I have homework to do." Sighed Kusano.

"Need any help with that?" Asked Minato.

"Are you sure it's okay for sensei to give his student private lessons?" Asked Kusano playfully.

"It's okay when they're married." Said Minato just as playfully. "Even though I'm not 'legally married' to any of you." He added sheepishly.

"Awwww~. You're so lucky Kusano." Whined Kazehana. "I wish that I could spend the whole day with Minato. But I have my job at the strip club, and I've heard how boring college is, and your college is the hardest in the city."

"We still can't believe that you actually like working there." Said Homura and Akitsu. "You could make more money working at a hostess club like we do. We're the most popular women working there, and we never even leave the bar with the patrons."

"I don't leave the club with anyone either." Defended Kazehana. "You know that Minato's the only man for any of us." She said as she and Matsu wrapped Minato in a hug. "Matsu, you get to spend most of the day with Minato too. Why don't you give the rest of us some time?"

"Mina-tan doesn't have any fun with me in the classroom or his office like other men do with their secretaries and teachers assistants." Whined Matsu.

"I don't think that most men in his position actually do that." Deadpanned Mutsu. "Now if you'll excuse me, Seo probably needs my help figuring out how to get further in our latest novel. He may be a good big picture man, but he's not so good at the little details. And with his kids, he needs all the help he can get. Momo and Karin are just like their mom Hikari, while Nana and Yuzu are just like their mom Hibiki. It's like his troubles have tripled since the Sekirei Plan was ended."

"Yes, yes, I know." Said Shiina on the phone. "Yes, I understand. I'll see what they think." He covered the receiver with his hand. "They want to know if you can come to a photo shoot next week." He told Musubi and Tsukiumi. "You don't have anything else scheduled that day. What should I tell them?"

"Well..." Thought Tsukiumi. "If we don't have any family matters scheduled that day I suppose it would be fine."

"Musubi wants to go!" Cheered Musubi. "Musubi hopes they let us keep the clothes again."

"They'd love to." Shiina told the modeling agency on the other end.

"Life is busy for the top models in Japan." Said Musubi.

"If you think that being you two is hard, try being your manager." Muttered Shiina sarcastically.

"And people thought that getting our start as maternity models was a bad decision." Said Tsukiumi smugly.

"All this talk about work reminds me that I have a shift at the hospital to get ready for." Admitted Uzume. "You're so lucky that you get maternity leave Chiho. You too Yukari."

"Uzume," Scolded Chiho. "You know that you like your job as a nurse at M.B.I.'s hospital, just as much as I love my job as a doctor there, and Yukari loves her job as a private detective." As she said this, a huge female mummy with an incredible figure appeared behind her.

"That's right." Said Yukari as Shinigami appeared behind her. "Even though I'm on vacation, I'm still working on cases from home."

"Did you two have to bring those out?" Whimpered Uzume.

"Sorry," Apologized Chiho. "But you know how these mood swings are."

"My, my." Intervened Miya. "All this talk about great jobs could make the owner of a simple inn like myself jealous." Her mask appeared, full force.

"I really see your point Chiho." Whispered Yukari.

"I know." Replied Uzume quietly. "Especially since she seems to be forgetting that this 'simple inn' as she called it is actually one of over thirty Izumo Inns nationwide."

Minato couldn't help but chuckle. "It's hard to believe that this is my life sometimes." He murmured to himself. "And I owe this great life to 004. Though you're still a weird one." He admitted. "I still can't believe that you actually signed your name on the manual for the Griffon when you seemed so reluctant to tell me your name in the first place. You're a real wild card, Sallem Cortez."

* * *

Done! This is the last chapter! Thank you all for reading this far!

To those of you who've read my profile, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that I inserted myself into the story. Hope that you've all liked my story.

"One more thing!" I will be inserting Karasuba, Haihane, and Benitsubasa in some of my future stories as well, so stay tuned to my works!

"One more thing!" You may have noticed that I showcased what everyone is like in the future. I did this because I wanted people to make their own spin-offs of this story if they wanted to. That's right! Anyone with at least one story with more than 50,000 words has my permission to make a spin-off based off the end of this story. I just ask that you don't include my Self-Insertion character in it, and make sure that it doesn't have a downer ending.

"One more thing!" If some of the kid's names look familiar, that's because they are. I'm not very original when it comes to stuff like that.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry I took this chapter down for a while. I had intended for it to be down for only a few days while I corrected some things I didn't like, but time got away from me like crazy, and I have thus kept this chapter off the site for WAY too long. I've fixed the minor details I didn't like, and now it's back to stay.

* * *

**Izumo Inn - Around May**

Life was simple around Izumo Inn. The residents were pleasant people, the recent upgrades allowed for many more clients to check in, and one resident polygamist had more women (all but one of them with child) than you could shake a stick at...

Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly all that simple.

"I'm home!" Called out Minato as he came back from his job at the construction yard.

"Welcome home, Minato." Greeted Miya, her hand resting on her slightly swollen stomach as she planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "How was your day at work?"

"Exhausting, as always." He grunted as he stretched out. "And how was your day?"

"Well, you know how everyone can be," Replied Miya pleasantly. "With so many Sekirei running about the inn, it's always one interesting day after another."

After the Sekirei Plan had been brought to a screeching halt by the meddling of one, admittedly wacky alien, many Ashikabi and Sekirei had gotten anonymous tips that Izumo Inn was the place to be if you were looking for a new home for whatever reason. Needless to say, those already in residence at the inn suspected those messages to be one of two final pranks from the mischief making alien that is Sallem (the other one being all the weapons installed on Minato's new car), especially since they had confirmed with Takami that M.B.I. had nothing to do with the letters.

"Oh, Minato~!" Kazehana cooed as she entered, as if on cue, and pressed her ample assets and swollen stomach up against him. "How's my one and only hubby doing?" She asked before receiving a solid whack to the head from Miya's ladle.

"How many times must I tell you to wear something less revealing?" Asked Miya sternly.

"Aw, come on, Miya," Whined Kazehana as she rubbed her exposed stomach happily. "My baby feels soooo much better when she gets a chance to breath."

"It's bad enough that you dress like this normally, Kazehana," Muttered Homura as she and Akitsu came along. "But it's just plain creepy that you're still dressing like that when you're about a month away from giving birth. For crying out loud, your bellybutton has turned into an outtie!"

"I'll wear whatever I want." Teased Kazehana playfully as she subtly grabbed Minato's butt, causing his face to flush. "Anyway, where have you two been all day? Busy prepping for the day when you two become inseparable, super feminine, wives for Minato?"

Homura growled at the not-so-subtle jab at the fact that, apparently, she'd one day be at Akitsu's side constantly, talking in unison, practically sharing a mind, as well as being a feminine woman if there ever was one.

"She was teaching me how to be a hostess." Akitsu answered bluntly.

"Akitsu!" Panicked Homura indignantly.

"Ohhhh! Interesting career choice Akitsu." Cooed Kazehana. "Does that mean Homura's gonna become a hostess too?"

"Not a chance." Growled Homura as she lit a flame in her hand, only to have it suddenly doused by a spray of water.

"We come home from a long day of modeling, and this is what we find waiting for us?" Asked Tsukiumi angrily as she, Musubi, and Shiina walked in.

Suddenly, Homura, Tsukiumi, and Kazehana all got solid whacks to the head by Miya's ladle. "How many times must I remind you two, that there will be no using your powers inside?" She scolded.

"Then why did you whack me too?" Whined Kazehana as she rubbed the sore spot on her head. "I wasn't doing anything."

"You were grabbing Minato's butt again." Pointed out Miya.

Kazehana was about to retort when she noticed something. "Hey, where is Minato, anyway?"

Everyone's eyes were suddenly drawn to where Minato had been up until just a few seconds ago.

"I can't help but wonder if Minato's secretly been getting ninja training." Remarked Shiina, as he recalled many other times when he'd managed to slip away in the confusion of his wives arguing.

"Why would Minato-sama be getting ninja training?" Asked Musubi curiously.

"Probably because the pirate training class was already full." Joked Seo, who had managed to sneak inside, completely unnoticed, surprising at least a few people.

"Seo! Get your ass up here!" Shouted an angry Hikari from upstairs.

"We've got four crying kids up here, and you're gonna help us calm them down!" Added Hibiki.

"Damn it!" Cursed Seo. "How do they always know right when I get home?"

"Maternal instinct." Offered Shiina.

"Scum sense." Teased Miya.

"Your precious bond as Sekirei and Ashikabi." Said Musubi confidently.

"The GPS implanted under your skin." Remarked Homura in a deadpan tone that made it impossible to tell if he was joking or not.

"What GPS?" Panicked Seo.

"Damn it Seo! Get up here, now!" Demanded Hikari.

"Coming!" Replied Seo as he flew off upstairs.

* * *

**With Minato**

_'That probably could have gone better.'_ Thought Minato as he slipped into the dinning room._ 'I swear, everyone keeps getting more and more unpredictable the closer my wives get to childbirth.'_ Somewhere along the road, he had gotten used to calling his Sekirei wives. They were bearing his children, so it just felt natural.

"Hey kid," Came a voice, causing Minato to panic slightly, at least until he saw who it was.

"Oh, hey there Mutsu." Sighed Minato in relief.

"Your Sekirei giving you grief again?" Guessed Mutsu as he resumed typing on his laptop.

"Just a little." Answered Minato. "I know they love me, and I love them back, but sometimes things can just get a little out of hand. So anyway, how are you doing?"

"Good enough I suppose," Replied Mutsu casually. "I'm living my life how I want, nobody's forcing me to fight, and I'm just putting the finishing touches on my second novel. Overall, things are going alright for me... with two exceptions."

Minato sighed. He knew all too well what, or rather who those two exceptions were. His sister Yukari was even more temperamental than ever with her mood swings, though thankfully, she was currently at M.B.I. awaiting the oncoming birth of her first child after insisting that she stay there a few days longer than she really had to out of moderate paranoia, and was therefor their problem for the time being.

The other was Mutsu's former Ashikabi, Hayato Mikogami, who was not the least bit happy about the Sekirei Plan being canceled, and had even gone so far as to hire a whole team of private investigators to track down his former Sekirei to try and get it started up again. As far as he knew, they had only managed to find Mutsu and Akitsu, since Mikogami had complained about the investigators being inefficient when he stormed into Izumo Inn, demanding his Sekirei back. When he came for Mutsu and Akitsu, however, Miya, Mutsu, Homura, and Akitsu dragged him into a vacant room, he came out shivering in fear, and hasn't come by since.

Minato still had absolutely no idea what went on in there, and had no plans to find out anytime soon.

"Yeah, I can kinda understand where you're coming from." Commented Minato. "My sister's always been a handful, but your old Ashikabi hasn't come by since he first showed up, and to be perfectly honest, he looked pretty terrified when he left."

"Good," Remarked Mutsu before drinking some of the tea he had resting beside him. "If I never see that whining brat ever again, it'll be too soon."

"What about Yukari?" Minato dared to ask.

Sighing, Mutsu responded dully. "I'll be perfectly honest, your sister is kind of... unnerving to be around sometimes, especially when she's having mood swings."

"Yeah, she can have a bit of a temper." Admitted Minato.

"You can say that again." Remarked Mutsu. "But even though she can be a spitfire from time to time, I have to admit that she's alright, and more or less polite once you get to know her... Though I didn't really appreciate her trying to sneak into my room last month." He added.

"Yeah, she did kinda overstep some boundaries with that." Agreed Minato uncomfortably.

"So this is where you've been." Came a mischievous voice from the ceiling.

Sighing, Minato and Mutsu didn't even turn to acknowledge who they knew was spying on them. "Matsu, do you really think that a woman in your condition should be wandering about in the ceiling panels?" Questioned Mutsu tiredly.

"How did you know it was me?" Asked Matsu irritably.

"Well, you are the only person in the entire inn who travels through the ceiling," Pointed out Minato. "And by the way, why do you still crawl around up there? You know that M.B.I. isn't after you for stealing a Jinki anymore."

"It's a habit." She shrugged. "Now what do you say you crawl up here and we do some 'experiments' together?"

"Which one of us?" Asked Mutsu sarcastically, as he gave up trying to get more down in his writing for the day.

"With Mina-tan of course!" She huffed indignantly. "Unless you wanna join us too, Mutsu?" She added lecherously.

"Not a chance." Denied Mutsu.

"We had sex a week ago, and I just slept with Miya last night." Reminded Minato.

"You're really seeing a lot of action, aren't you, Minato?" Asked Mutsu.

"Hey! I'm a woman! I have needs!" Insisted Matsu. "It's not my fault being pregnant is making me horny."

"You're always horny." Corrected Mutsu coldly.

"Mutsu! Don't be so meeaaaan!" Matsu began, before she started panicking for some reason. "Plants? Kusano! This - ah ha ha ha ha ha ha - isn't funny! Get these vines off of my - ha ha ha ha - legs! And please stop - ah ha ha ha ha ha - tickling my feet!"

As Matsu continued laughing, the sliding doors opened, and Kusano, holding her usual potted plant above her head with the vine reaching into the ceiling panels, entered.

"Hey Kusano." Greeted Minato awkwardly, trying not to pay any attention to Matsu being tickle tortured by a plant in the ceiling. "Where have you been?"

Kusano came up, sat on Minato's lap, and pointed up. "Someone came out of the closet." She said innocently.

Minato, Mutsu, and all of Minato's other Sekirei and Shiina who had tracked him down to the dinning room, paled in wide-eyed shock at Kusano's words. the only exceptions were Musubi, who didn't get the innuendo, and Matsu, who was still being tickle tortured.

Shiina, managing to recover the fastest out of everyone due to his sibling-like bond with Kusano, was the first to voice what was on everyone's mind. "Ku, what exactly do you mean by that? I mean... we already know that Chiho and Uzume are... um... er..." He trailed off.

"Someone came out of Minato onii-chan's closet." She repeated, slightly irritated.

At this, Minato got several stares. Ranging from the embarrassed looks on the faces of those who were (or at least used to be) men, to the furious look on Tsukiumi's face, to the vacant and mildly confused looks on Musubi and Akitsu's faces, to Miya's and Kazehana's slightly shocked, though also amused expressions.

"I have no idea what she's talking about!" Minato insisted quickly.

"I'm... sure that there's a perfectly logical explanation for what she's saying." Said Homura awkwardly.

"I'd sure like to hear it." Growled Tsukiumi.

"Ku... Where on earth did you hear that expression?" Gaped Shiina.

"I'm confused," Said Musubi. "Why would someone be in Minato-sama's closet?"

Kazehana giggled. "So innocent. I bet she still hasn't figured out that she's got a baby growing inside of her."

"Musubi's baby is inside of her!" Musubi panicked. "Musubi thought she was just fat!"

Everyone suddenly got really quiet.

"Minato, I thought you said that you were going to explain it to her." Scolded Miya mildly, breaking the silence.

"I tried," Insisted Minato. "But no matter how I explained it, she just didn't understand."

"Did you use any words with three or more syllables?" Asked Mustu. "If so, I think we've found the problem."

"Hello!" Interjected a cheerful voice. "Am I interrupting something?"

Not recognizing the voice, everyone turned to the source of the sound, and saw something quite surprising.

A wolf in a bizarre outfit.

"Hope I'm not causing any problems you haven't already started," Said the wolf playfully. "But I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by."

Everyone just stared in shock at the talking canine. Jaws dropped, people dropped, and Kusano said "I told you someone came out of Minato onii-chan closet" but everyone was still too shocked to pay attention.

Shiina was the first to break the silence. "T... T-T-TALKING DOG!" He panicked.

"Damn it!" Shouted the wolf, scaring Shiina even further. "How many times do I have to tell people, I'm a wolf! Not some tamed mutt!"

Everyone's eyes widened in recognition at that line. "Sallem?" Guessed Minato.

"Glad to see that somebody recognizes me." Smirked Sallem as best a wolf could. "I mean, I knew that Miya would get it right away based on just my clothes, but it was still fun to see how everyone else reacted to my current appearance."

Everyone continued to stare at Sallem, wondering just what had happened to him. Finally, someone broke the awkward silence. "YOU!" Outburst Tsukiumi angrily.

"Ah!" Realized Sallem instantaneously. "So, you found out that I lied to all of you about where Sekirei come from, did you?"

Tsukiumi suddenly froze just as she was about to attack him. "H-How did you know that?" She squeaked.

"Well, I couldn't really think of anything else that I did that would upset you so much if you haven't already chewed me out for it, so I just dared to venture a guess." Sallem said confidently. "But you have to admit, if you were watching it from an outside perspective, the lie I told you about the whole 'prostitution' thing would be pretty damn funny. I mean seriously, you're all humanoids. How gullible are you all? Did you honestly think that all species in the galaxy would be interested in your body shape? Believe me when I say that there are actually some pretty messed up standards of beauty out in all of existence."

Tsukiumi just sputtered incoherently for several second before Miya stepped forward. "Yes, you did seem to do quite a bit of lying during your time on this planet, 'Mr. Hobo'."

"So, you figured out that I was lying about that too." Sallem commented cheerfully.

"You said that your basement was a pool of money," Remarked Mutsu. "It was obvious that you were lying about something there."

"Quite right." Confirmed Sallem. "If you must know, I am actually the founder, and current head of Zero Industries; the single greatest company in my entire galaxy. And I am also the single richest person in my entire galaxy, as well as the most intelligent. So, now you know."

"Once a liar, always a liar." Said Homura and Akitsu in perfect unison, prompting Homura to look at Akitsu in shock and clutch her head, groaning in fear of a future of being of one mind with another.

"You want proof?" Asked Sallem. "Fine, proof is actually on the way right now as luck would have it. Just try not to panic when you see him, which, if you've seen Star Wars, will be pretty hard to manage."

"What are you talking a...bout?" Shiina slowed down as his eyes got wide in fear. "G... G-G... General Grievous!" He panicked.

"Case and point, right there." Sallem said slyly at the shocked expressions of everyone in the room besides himself as he turned around to greet the cyborg general. "Hey Grievous. How did the job go?"

"The King Land Shark was retrieved, as per your instructions." Responded Grievous in a grizzly tone. "Will there be anything else, master?"

Sallem hummed as he thought it over. "Tell you what, you've been doing so good recently, why don't you take some time to train a bit against a few hordes of zombies?" At this request, Grievous groaned, or at least did something akin to a groan. "Is there something wrong?"

"You know how I feel about dealing with survivors." Said Grievous angrily.

"Which means, you've obviously forgotten about how things work again." Sighed Sallem. "You kill the zombies. The survivors come to you. You let the survivors follow you. When your shift is over, you bring the survivors to the cleansing chambers with you to be cleaned up, fed, and sent out into their new home. Then you go home, enjoy yourself, and never see the survivors again. It's really quite a simple system."

Grievous growled. "Fine!" He barked out. "But I'd still rather be fighting monstrosities in the Gourmet World again." He consented as he pulled out a remote, pressed a button, and disappeared. Leaving a smirking Sallem to explain things to his stunned and fearful friends.

"See, Grievous of Star Wars works for me." He said slyly. "Now do you believe that I'm filthy stinking rich?"

"What's going on?" Panicked Shiina. "I thought Grievous and Star Wars and all of that stuff was just fictional!"

"Yes, and no." Responded Sallem. "Most works of fiction as you know them are actually based off of real events that happened in other dimensions. It's just that very few people actually have the technology to traverse these dimensional boundaries, as the technology required to do so is regarded as nothing more than a ridiculous myth to most sane people. Also, much more often than not, the people who write these stories only know about them via a sub-conscious psychic link with these worlds, so they themselves only see these worlds as their own marketable imagination."

Everyone just stared at Sallem in shock. Once again, he had managed to cause mass mayhem while barely even trying.

"Does anybody want some dinner?" Asked Sallem. "I'll have my personal chef whip up something that will really knock your socks off."

"Is this all nothing more than some game to you?" Asked Mutsu irritably. "Come by, mess with our heads, and then just wander off when you get bored?"

"Somewhat, yes." Conceded Sallem. "Now does anybody want some Ten-Star cooking? Because I'm in the mood for an Eight-Course meal of deliciousness."

Just as Miya was about to protest, the stomachs of every expecting female in the room started to rumble in hunger. "Well... I suppose that it is about time for me to start work on dinner." She said with a slight blush as she rubbed her swollen abdomen.

"Don't worry about it," Said Sallem as he walked off to the kitchen. "Like I said, I'll have my personal chef make a Ten-Star, Eight-Course meal for all of us."

"You are aware that cooking only goes up to Five-Stars, right?" Questioned Homura skeptically.

Sallem smirked as he jumped up onto the kitchen counter, despite Miya's protest. "Trust me, you'll be changing your tune about how many stars you can give food very quickly after just one bite of Chibi's cooking." He explained as he shook off his scarf, revealing the machinery hidden underneath it.

"Who's Chibi, and does he brew sake?" Asked Kazehana mischievously, only to receive a whack to the head from Miya's ladle.

"How many times must I remind you," Began Miya. "I cannot allow you any alcohol in your condition."

"It's for after I give birth~!" Whined Kazehana. "I know better than to drink when I'm expecting."

"What did I miss?" Asked Matsu, who had just recovered from her tickle torture.

"A doggy was in Minato's closet." Said Kusano.

"The dog was Sallem." Continued Homura and Akitsu together, further frustrating Homura.

"Sallem lied about a lot more than just where Sekirei come from." Growled Tsukiumi.

"General Grievous showed up." Continued Shiina nervously.

"He works for Sallem." Added Mutsu.

"Sallem is actually loaded." Chimed in Kazehana.

"He's offering to have his cook prepare our dinner." Said Miya pleasantly, as if nothing was wrong.

"Two tiny robots came out of Sallem's neck." Finished Musubi, causing everyone to look at her, and then Sallem in shock.

Everyone was silent for several seconds, staring at the tiny robots that popped out of Sallem's neck get to work on preparing food that one of them popped out of his head somehow. Finally Matsu broke the silence. "What did I miss?" She repeated nervously.

"I showed up. That really all you need to know." Responded Sallem, wanting to get things over with. "At any rate, while Chibi, that's the robot with the cooking implements, whips up some food, I think I'll go scare some innocent bystanders." He smirked as he hopped off the counter and made a break for the door.

"Hold on a second!" Cut in Minato as he suddenly grabbed Sallem's tail, causing the wolf to growl at him, though Minato kept his grip. "This is all very sudden, and I know that we all owe you a lot... But right now, I think everyone wants some answers, and you keep changing the subject. Why did you lie to us? Why did you just come back all of a sudden? And why did you get involved with all of this in the first place?"

Sallem continued to glare at Minato in anger for grabbing his tail; the robotic manifestation of his aura clashing with Minato's multi-headed dragon aura. Neither party giving in, but still scaring the crap out of several people present. Until finally, someone relented. "Fine, I suppose I owe you all that much." Sallem consented. "But some of this stuff is, for lack of a better term 'man stuff' so I'll only be that information to Minato, Mutsu, and Shiina."

"So you mean to withhold important information from me?" Asked Miya, her demonic aura joining the clash of fear. "I'm the owner of this inn, so I believe that I'm entitled to this information."

"And what about me?" Asked Homura irritably. "I used to be a man too." She said with no small hint of shame.

"In this order," Began Sallem as he struggled to keep himself from laughing. "You've been keeping your fair share of secrets yourself, Miya. And we all know that Homura's not gonna keep her tomboy attitude forever. So there." He smirked as Homura fumed over being reminded about what her future holds. "Now, which questions will you be asking first? Please keep in mind that I like things to be kept short, sweet, and well worded."

"Why did you get involved with the Sekirei Plan in the first place?" Minato repeated.

"Alas," Sighed Sallem dramatically. "The first question you ask is one that I refuse to answer in the company of women. Please, try something else for now. I promise that I'll get to that question for the men later."

"Why do refuse to answer that question in front of us all?" Asked Miya sternly. Much to her surprise, Sallem actually averted his gaze and looked rather uncomfortable.

Coughing into the air a few times, Sallem kept his eyes on a wall to the left. "Well... As I said before... The reason for my silence is because it's... Man stuff..."

Miya nodded in understanding. "You need say no more. I know scum when I see it." She said in a pleasant way, that somehow made one feel as if they were having their morals insulted; specifically the morals regarding love, relationships, and attraction, all in the physical sense.

"Shut up and ask another question." Insisted Sallem, his head still turned away. "I'll have you know that I've done some extremely evil things in the past, and am not opposed to doing so now."

Staring at him intently, Minato continued his line of questioning, knowing that he'd get all the answers he needed eventually. "Then why did you lie to us?"

"Two reasons," Sallem said humorously. "One, it was funny as hell to gauge your reactions to all the shit I could come up with." He said before bursting into his traditional Yo ho ho laugh, leaving everyone dumbfounded, shocked, and very much irritated. After catching his breath, he continued. "Two, I guess I got a bit too much into the character I was using at the time."

When Sallem had been silent for a long pause, Mutsu continued the questioning. "What exactly do you mean, you got too into character?"

"I'll be honest with you guys," Began Sallem happily. "Minaka isn't the first villain I've taken down, and I doubt that he'll be the last. It's actually something of a hobby of mine to take down bad guys." Starting to feel a bit boastful, Sallem decided to have some more fun by pretending he had an overinflated ego. "And of course, someone as awesome, badass, intelligent, and all around devilishly handsome as myself-"

"Not to mention modest." Homura muttered sarcastically.

"-Would be able to take down pretty much anyone in a heartbeat." Sallem continued, undeterred by Homura's comment. "So in order to make things a bit more fun, I hold back a great deal of what I'm really capable of, and even go the extra mile to not just beat my enemies, but outright humiliate them as well. And in my experience, the best way to do just that is to beat my foes at their own game. And in the case of the Sekirei Plan, I suppose that could be taken quite literally."

"Beat him at his own game?" Repeated Tsukiumi skeptically. "From what I've seen, all you really did was a bunch of random shit, set Minaka up for serious crimes, and wing the Disciplinary Squad. How does any of that qualify as beating Minaka at his own game?"

"Well, I'd say that you just gave three very good examples just now." Sallem commented, confusing everyone. Even Miya would admit that she was completely lost. "Yo ho ho ho. I see that you all don't quite get it yet. The random shit, as Tsukiumi put it, was Minaka's insanity. Setting him up for crimes, was his manipulation of information. And the Disciplinary Squad? Hello! It's called the Sekirei Plan for a reason. I didn't just beat Minaka, I completely humiliated him. In the news, the paper, even the internet, and that's the kind of humiliation that never, ever goes away." It was obvious that Sallem was quite pleased at his own genius.

Long silence. Then a voice. "He's got you there Miss Panties." Said Kazehana.

"Don't remind me." Growled Tsukiumi. "And stop calling me Miss Panties!"

"Insane he may be, but it's good inspiration nonetheless." Remarked Mutsu as he wrote some notes on a pad of paper.

"I really wanna burn him right now." Growled Homura in contempt of Sallem's cocky attitude.

"I... guess that answers that question." Relented Minato. "But why did you come back all of a sudden?"

Again, Sallem got really nervous at the question. Obviously he really didn't want to talk about it. "Well... Karasuba's being... moody, for lack of a better term... So I ran away for a bit."

"I... I understand." Cut in Minato instantly. "There's really no need to elaborate." At this point, Minato was suddenly aware that every one of his Sekirei was eying Sallem dangerously. He supposed that they were upset that someone would suddenly walk out without warning during a woman's time of need.

"Hey, ladies! Cut me some slack, okay?" Pleaded Sallem. "A guy needs to get some time to himself every so often. You can't honestly expect me to stick around all of the time? You're not even really involved with any of this anyway. What do you want from me?"

"Well... at least we know that he wasn't lying about being an expecting father!" Cut in Shiina quickly, trying to defuse a bomb.

"Actually, I kinda did lie." Admitted Sallem sheepishly. "Karasuba is the only one who was really expecting at the time-"

"Shut up!" Whispered Shiina. "I'm trying to help you here!"

"Not to mention that she'd been child for about a month and a half at that point already, not just a day." Sallem continued on, sounding like he was actually enjoying the bad attention. "I just came up with that lie right before the Christmas party so that we could actually attend. I didn't even know that she was really expecting until she told me right after the party. Benitsubasa and Haihane were so upset that I'd had sex with Karasuba before either of them, that they forced me into a three-way right then and there. They've actually been getting along surprisingly well for a trio that used to be at each other's throats half of the time. Anyway, long story short, I'm more or less in the dog house as you humans would say." By the end, it was painfully obvious that Sallem was enjoying being the center of attention, especially if people hated him.

Everyone was silent for a moment, and suddenly, Miya walked off, only to come back with sword in hand, which was rather shocking. Even though everyone may have been united against Sallem's morals, or lack thereof, to pull out a sword on the guy was kind of extreme.

"I think that's my cue." Smirked Sallem as he, Minato, Mutsu, and Shiina disappeared in a flash of light, leaving nothing behind but a pair of cooking robots, some stupefied Sekirei, and a hologram that read. Gone Fishing. Back by Dinner.

* * *

**Sallem's Personal Office**

"Where are we?" Demanded Mutsu immediately after the light faded and he, Minato, and Shiina found themselves in an extremely luxuriously furnished office which, aside from the floor, was shaped like a sphere.

"My office of course." Laughed Sallem. "Didn't you see the caption?"

"What are you talking about?" Mutsu asked as he got a grip on his sword.

"Oh, right," Realized Sallem. "I forget, regular people can't see it. I swear, I've been spending too much time with Deadpool."

"Who?" Asked Minato uncertainly.

"Deadpool's a mercenary." Answered Shiina. "He's also completely insane."

"Nerd." Taunted Sallem. "And oddly enough as it is for me to be ignorant of a trait of someone I know, I had absolutely no clue as to that little fact. Seriously, I could probably name at least nine different species from Star Wars that the creators cared enough about to actually really work on getting right, and I bet that you could give a detailed description of each of them."

"Don't say that like it's a bad thing!" Objected Shiina, feeling as though he had been greatly insulted. "You said yourself that Star Wars really existed! And do you have any idea what it's like to be stuck in one building for several years? I may have had Ku to keep me company during most of it, but I had to occupy the rest of my time somehow!"

"Easy there, Shinigami," Said Sallem. "No one ever said that having a hobby was a bad thing. You got into works of fiction, Mutsu does his writing, I kill zombies, go hunting in the Gourmet World, play matchmaker, and oversee my own Jedi temple in my spare time. Everyone has their own thing."

"YOU HAVE A JEDI TEMPLE!" Exploded Shiina excitedly. "Does that mean that you're a... a..."

"I just founded and run the place." Denied Sallem. "I'm incapable of using the Force myself."

"A-HEM!" Intervened Mutsu. "I think that you're forgetting a few important details. Like where we are, and what we're doing here?"

"Right, right. Of course." Admitted Sallem. "Sorry to get off track, but it's just so much fun to tease people. Anyway, I brought you all here to my office talk for a bit in private, and let the girls cool their heels for awhile."

"I really don't think that they'll be calming down back home." Deadpanned Minato.

"That's why I had Chibi, that's my little robot, start cooking before we left." Said Sallem. "By now, the scent of the food cooking will be so delicious, they'll be completely mellowed out, and won't be the least bit aggravated when we get back."

"You're evil." Said Mutsu bluntly.

"I'm a businessman," Smirked Sallem. "Tell me something that I don't already know. Now, onto business." He said as he pressed a button on his desk. "Ninja Table. Please report to my office right away."

Almost instantly, a bizarre and greatly disturbing... Thing walked into the room. It was built like a crab, had four human legs, four human arms, wore a musty cloak and a large metal collar, carried a large tray in its four arms, and had the most disturbing head everyone in the room besides Sallem had ever seen. The head in question looked like someone had taken two heads, one was a spiky blond kid with a retarded fox face, and the other a raven-haired kid with hair resembling a duck ass, taken off their lower jaws, put the heads together so that the retarded blond fox one made the new lower jaw and the duck ass haired one made the upper jaw, and attached their old lower jaws to the sides of their head like the sideways mouth of some insect. To say Minato and Mutsu were disgusted was an understatement, and Shiina even looked horrified.

"This is one of my experiments." Sallem informed them happily. "Believe it or not, they used to be a pair of game breaking ninjas, before I got my hands on them, beat them into submission, and turned them into that. They are now my pathetic slave."

Minato didn't know what to say. He was horrified and disgusted to see that anyone was capable of doing such a horrible thing to people without the least bit of remorse. Nobody should ever be treated in such a way, but Minato was too disgusted right now to be angry.

Mutsu wasn't faring that much better. While he knew that Sallem was clearly not a very moral person, he had never expected that he was capable of such depravity. This guy wasn't just evil, he was even worse than Minaka.

Shiina on the other hand... "You monster!" He shouted. "How could you do something like this? Don't you have any sympathy? Don't you know who these two are?"

"In this order," Remarked Sallem casually, as if discussing the weather. "I'm a surgical genius. I have plenty of sympathy, just none for ninjas. And I know exactly who these two are, or rather used to be. Naruto and Sasuke. I could never really stand either of them, so I just did this to them."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't decay you right now." Growled Shiina, more angry that Minato or Mutsu had ever seen him.

"Because, technically, I've never done anything that would effect any of you negatively, nor do I plan to." Pointed out Sallem.

"That doesn't make what you've done to them any less wrong!" Shouted Shiina.

"Nor does what you're saying make me any less able to kill all of you at once." Said Sallem cheerfully, shocking everyone else. "Of course, I like to think of you all as my friends, so I would never do anything like that. I'm just saying that you shouldn't worry about things that don't adversely affect you. Chronic Hero Syndrome is the calling card of a suicidal nut, unless of course you're hotblooded enough to pull it off, which none of you are, and I'd hate to see anything bad happen to my friends."

With that, Sallem's message was made clear. 'Don't question me, or I'll kill you.'

"Shut up, Narrator!" Barked Sallem. "I'd never kill these guys! They're my friends! And in spite of my occasionally questionable morals, I always look out for my friends!"

"Who is he talking to?" Minato whispered to Mutsu, who just shrugged, not knowing that information himself.

"Don't ask." Said Sallem sternly as he jumped on the tray Table Ninja was carrying. "If you don't want your entire world view as you know it shattered to pieces, just don't ask. At any rate, I know that you asked for a good reason for what I did to these two, and it's really quite simple. Everyone is prone to actions of both good and bad. Sometimes you do the good thing, and sometimes you do the bad thing. These moments happen to everyone, and naturally get bigger and grander in nature the more power you possess. Since I possess an extreme amount of power in terms of money, influence, intelligence, and fighting ability, it's only natural that some of the bad things that I do are naturally far worse than others. Sometimes this is good, like when I turned a bunch of Tenryubito into an even more twisted version of the human centipede. And sometime this is bad, or at least morally questionable, like when I made this thing." He said as he stomped on the tray he was standing on, angering Ninja Table. "And sometimes I quite honestly don't really know what to make of it, like when I committed complete genocide against the Yam'rii."

"How can genocide possibly be a good thing?" Asked a stupefied Minato.

"It was the best way I could get Grievous to work for me." Explained Sallem. "Since you seem to be an expert on Star Wars, why don't you explain things to them, Shiina?"

"The Yam'rii attacked Grievous' home world completely unprovoked." Shiina began. "They were a highly aggressive race who enslaved Grievous' people, known as Kaleesh, started a war with them that killed many people on both sides, ran away when things got too tough for them to handle, and got off without any political retaliation because they bribed the Galactic Republic to make themselves look like the victims, and making the Kaleesh be unfairly punished for the war. With all of this in mind, genocide many have actually been the right choice." By the end of the explanation, Mutsu and Minato just stared at Shiina, completely stunned. "What?"

"I think that they're just shocked by your obsession with Star Wars and advanced political views." Guessed Sallem.

Mutsu coughed into his hand to try to clear away at least some of the confusion and shock. "Alright. Ignoring the abduction, using cooking to distract the others back at the inn, the disgusting experiments, and the genocide, would you please stop dancing around the subjects and get back on track here?"

"That was a very funny sentence, Mutsu." Chuckled Sallem, to which Mutsu responded with an angry glare. "Alright, enough of my tomfoolery. I'll answer the question you've all been dying to hear, and that means you too. You know who I'm talking about." He said to the screen.

"Who is he talking to?" Shiina whispered to Mutsu, who only shrugged as an answer.

"It's very simple," Sallem began. "Just so long as you've seen any movie involving time-travel." Shiina immediately raised his hand. "Who couldn't see that coming." Mumbled Sallem. "At any rate, Last Christmas wasn't my first experience with time-travel. I've actually done it several times before. First time I did it was about eight of your earth years ago, when I traveled about ten years of your time into the future. What I found, is what motivated me to get involved in the Sekirei Plan."

"Let me guess," Began Shiina tiredly. "You ran into your future self, and you were married to the Disciplinary Squad?"

"You're half right." Admitted Sallem. "I ran into myself, I saw my future wives, future me only told me to look for Sekirei and start my own Jedi temple around the same time I was born via more time travel, and I had a nice little time paradox on my hands when I got back to my time."

"Why would your future self tell you to build a Jedi temple in the past?" Asked Minato, ridiculously ignorant, as usual.

"Let me guess," Began Mutsu sarcastically. "This Jedi temple is the reason you couldn't bring your future family to the party?"

"Bingo." Confirmed Sallem. "That, and the fact that my species, and any hybrids of my species, spends the first six years of their lives as wolves before gaining the ability to change between bipedal and quadrupedal forms at will."

"But that doesn't make sense," Intervened Shiina. "Jedi aren't allowed to form attachments, at least not until the New Order was established. How did you even track down people to join your temple? And what about the Jedi temple that already exists?"

"Dude, it's my Jedi temple, so I make the rules there." Explained Sallem. "As for how I tracked them down and about the already existing Jedi temple. I have special scanners, tons of employes to search for potential Jedi, and by searching during and after Order 66, but before the New Order was established, it was fairly easy to gather them up."

"I'm afraid that I'm not following any of this." Confessed Minato. "What does any of this have to do with why you asked yourself to build a Jedi temple, or why you couldn't bring your future family to the party like you did with ours?"

"Are you seriously that dense?" Asked Mutsu. "It's obvious that his future self told him to build a Jedi temple because he, ahem... expands his harem there," Instantly, Minato went red-faced. "Which is also why he couldn't bring his future family with him. I imagine at least Benitsubasa wouldn't be happy about it."

"Exactly." Confirmed Sallem. "I highly doubt she would take it all that well, especially considering the sheer, ahem... number I've added on."

"How many?" Sighed Mutsu, already somewhat disappointed in Sallem.

"I kindly ask that you not give me that look." Requested Sallem. "I marry for love and nothing else... It's just that I have a lot of love to go around." He insisted. _'And you! Out there in front of the screen! Don't give me that look! I know what's real and what's not! And don't tell me that any men reading this haven't fantasized at least once about nonhuman women! You're reading a Sekirei fic for crying out loud! You're all already too far gone for help!'_ He added mentally.

"How many?" Repeated Mutsu irritably.

"What species?" Added Shiina curiously.

"Shiina's question is nice, but I hope you don't mind if I throw in their names, just so at least he can get a better understanding of thing." Sallem rambled, calling up a hologram as he did so, images of the women appearing on the screen as he listed them off. "Shaak Ti the Togruta, Luminara Unduli the Mirialan, Aayla Secura the Twi'lek, Sian Jeisel the Devaronian, Sha Koon the Kel Dor, and Maris Brood the Zabrak."

"In other words, six more girls." Mutsu remarked. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"So... many... Jedi..." Shiina gaped, starry-eyed at Sallem's words.

"Doesn't that number seem a bit excessive?" Minato asked. "It sounds like you may be biting off more than you can chew."

"I assure you, I am perfectly capable of handling a harem of such a scale." Sallem insisted. "Besides, you're one to talk, Minato. You're involved with eight women."

"Point taken," Minato admitted. "But it can get to be a bit of a handful sometimes. You're really sure you can handle things?"

"Why? You looking for some alien babes?" Jested Sallem. Minato quickly shook his head. "Didn't think so. And anyway, if you think is a lot, you should meet this one guy I know named Link. His harem numbers in the 20s! And a good chunk of them aren't even the same species as he is! Yet somehow even he manages!" Bursting into laughter, Sallem pounded his front paws on the tray he was standing on, further aggravating the already irked Ninja Table.

"In the... 20s..." Repeated Minato in shock.

"A pervert among perverts." Concluded Mutsu.

"Link? As in Legend of Zelda, Link?" Asked a stupefied Shiina.

"Yes. That's very likely. And yes, just not one that you're familiar with." Answered Sallem. "In case you couldn't tell by now, I'm used to answering lists of questions in an orderly manner."

The three men from Earth had nothing more to say. Largely due to the fact that they couldn't believe that a harem could possibly get as big as the one this Link guy has, and still be manageable.

"If that is all, I kindly ask that you please peruse the menu for tonight's feast." Said Sallem as he pressed a button on the tray he was standing on, and a large holographic screen popped up. On it, was a list of 8 dishes that none of the Earthlings were familiar with.

Hors-D'oeuvre - Hundred Leaf Clover Crispy Fried Sesame Tofu

Soup - Magma Consomme Stew

Fish - King Land Shark Grilled Sushi

Meat - Ashurasaurus Roast

Main Dish - ET Rice Balls

Salad - Grana Lettuce Caeser Salad

Dessert - Oasis Melon Sherbert

Drink - Doham Spring Boiling Sake

"Of course we'll have to substitute the Sake with water for the ladies," Commented Sallem. "But we can still enjoy it. That's actually why I changed into this form in the first place. When I'm on two legs, I'm a lightweight. But on four legs, I can drink like a fish!"

"These ingredients..." Whispered Shiina. "They're all from Toriko, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Like I said, what you call fictional, someone else calls reality." Commented Sallem.

"Sake." Sighed Mutsu. "After this little talk, I could definitely go for some of that."

"What about those two?" Asked Minato as he glanced over at Ninja Table.

"What about them?" Asked Mutsu tiredly. "We can't really do anything about them, so let's just leave them."

"Still doesn't feel right." Muttered Shiina.

"Deal with it." Said Sallem coldly. "This is what they get for being ninjas, and two of the most retarded people in history. Believe me when I say that things are much better this way." He finished as he pressed a button on his remote, and they were gone.

* * *

**Back at Izumo Inn**

When the light cleared, Minato, Mutsu, and Shiina happily found themselves back at the dinning room of Izumo Inn.

"It's good to be home." Sighed Minato.

"It's good to have you back too, dear." Greeted Miya as she welcomed him back home with another kiss. "Though I would have preferred that you not leave at all." She commented dangerously in Sallem's direction.

"Still not scared." Taunted Sallem gleefully.

"You're lucky I have my child to consider." Countered Miya.

"By the way, Miya," Began Minato. "Where is everyone else right now?" Normally he was swarmed by all of his wives after being away from the Inn for any length of time, so he was justifiably confused and concerned. "And what's that really good smell?" He added.

"That smell is actually the reason that they're not here." Explained Miya. "Not long after that small robot started cooking, everyone aside from myself was too intoxicated by the scent to worry too much for your safety."

"What did I tell you?" Sallem asked the slightly downtrodden Minato. "The food smells that good, so just imagine how good it tastes."

"Even if everyone was more concerned about food than me," Minato began doubtfully. "Why aren't you crowding around the food, Miya?"

"Because I'm more concerned about my lover than my food." Miya answered honestly, bringing a blush to Minato's face. "Though my self-control, and the fact that the others, aside from Kusano, are much further along than I am may have something to do with it as well."

"That would explain it." Said Mutsu and Shiina in unison. They knew from being around Yukari that expecting women love to eat.

"Still..." Muttered Minato. "It would be nice if the women I love would be more concerned about me than food."

"Awww! That's so sweet of you to say!" Cooed Kazehana as she latched herself onto his back.

"K-Kazehana?" Panicked Minato right before Tsukiumi and Musubi both latched onto one of his arms each. "Musubi? Tsukiumi?" Suddenly everyone else showed up as well. "Matsu? Homura? Akitsu? Kusano?"

"Musubi would never choose food over Minato-sama!" Musubi said reassuringly.

"You didn't honestly think I would care more about food than my husband, did you?" Asked Tsukiumi bashfully.

"B-But, Miya said..." Minato stuttered.

"I'm very sorry about that, dear," Apologized Miya. "But Sallem left instructions for a prank, and I'd be lying if I said most of us didn't want to try it."

"You... pranked me?" Said Minato as though he couldn't believe what was going on. "But why?"

"This is why." Said Matsu as she pulled a recorder out of her breasts and turned it on.

"Still..." Began Minato's hesitant voice over the recording. "It would be nice if the women I love would be more concerned about me than food."

"...What?" Minato asked, still stumped.

"Honestly," Sighed Matsu. "For someone who can flawlessly pass what is propably one of the toughest tests in the world, you can be so clueless."

"We wanted Onii-chan to say he loved us." Said Kusano.

Minato blinked in disbelief a few times before responding. "That's it?"

"What do you mean, that's it?" Growled Tsukiumi as she latched onto Minato tighter.

"Doesn't Minato-sama remember what Musubi said about Sekirei?" Asked Musubi.

"Tsukiumi... Musubi..." Muttered Minato

"Sekirei exist for love." Said Akitsu. "They exist for their Ashikabi. To know and hear that we're loved is important to us."

Minato blinked a few more times. Still not entirely believing the situation before him.

"Minato," Began Homura as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you really think that I would willingly give up my... manhood, something I valued a great deal, if I didn't really love you, and want to be loved back?"

"Akitsu... Homura..." Was all Minato could squeeze out.

"To hear you say that you love us makes us feel good." Pointed out Matsu. "We may already know it, but just to hear it again and again makes us happy."

"Onii-chan hardly ever says he loves us," Said Kusano innocently. "Why don't you?"

"Matsu... Kusano..." Minato again. As if you didn't already know that.

"After being heartbroken once already, Miya and I never once thought we'd find true love again." Cooed Kazehana.

"I'd prefer it if you'd allow me to speak for myself." Commented Miya. "But what Kazehana says is true. For years I'd been only half of what I used to be. But now, here with you, my life feels full again."

"Kazehana... Miya..." Guess who.

"Who can say what lead us to this miracle we found?" Howled Sallem softly. "There are those who bet, love comes but once and yet, I'm very glad we met, the second time around."

This time, Minato just stared at Sallem, more surprised than confused.

"What?" Asked Sallem. "I can be a romantic when I feel like it."

"Yes," Smirked Kazehana deviously, which Sallem could already tell could only mean trouble for someone. "You certainly are a romantic, Sallem." Now Sallem knew the trouble was for him.

"He certainly is," Agreed Miya evilly. "So I guess it's no surprise that he'll go out of his way to seduce six extraterrestrial women." At the sight of Sallem's shocked, panicking, and slack jawed expression, she allowed herself some chuckles, and was soon joined by everyone else.

"How... How... How did you hear that?" Questioned Sallem fearfully.

"I hacked your hologram to see what I could find out about it." Explained Matsu. "Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was linked directly to a remote device on your person, and that I could listen to you through it."

"That's impossible!" Panicked Sallem. "Do you have any idea of just how advanced my remote is? There are only a handful of people in existence who could possibly hack it with anything short of Omnipotence or Omniscience! Even a technopath like you shouldn't be capable of getting into the system!"

"Maybe not on my own," Admitted Matsu. "But with my Norito..." She trailed off, leaving it to Sallem's imagination.

"Norito?" Exclaimed Sallem in disbelief. "But how could you possibly do a Norito when Minato was..." Sallem stopped for a second to think further on the subject. "Wait a second... Are you gonna say it's because of the fact that you're pregnant with Minato's child, and therefor, have his DNA constantly in your body, that you can use Norito whenever you want?"

"I'm surprised you didn't know about this already," Homura remarked. "With the fact that you have three Sekirei yourself, you seem like one of the first people who would find out about this."

"It's not like I wanted them to fight or be tested in their conditions." Muttered Sallem. "I do have some morals, you know. In spite of what you may have seen in my office."

"Not very many, though." Deadpanned Akitsu.

"Yo ho, very funny." Remarked Sallem sarcastically. "Can we please get back to the discussion about Minato not saying that he loves all of you enough? I'd much rather we focus on that than my own suffering." He made no attempt to hide his true intentions. He knew that they'd see through them anyway.

Minato, suddenly coming to his senses, finally reacted to what His Sekirei had said. "That's it? I haven't been saying that I love you all enough?"

"Of course you haven't, Minato!" Huffed Tsukiumi. "As your wife, I expect to hear you say that to me at least once a day! You haven't even been saying it once a week!"

"Kuu is still too little to be a mommy like everyone else," Said Kusano as she grabbed onto Minato's leg. "So Onii-chan should always remind Kuu that he can wait."

"Minato-sama is still shaky around all of us," Said Musubi. "Why is that?"

Internally, Minato was hitting himself over and over for not seeing all of this sooner. "I'm sorry everyone," He began as he slipped his arms out of Musubi and Tsukiumi's grasp and wrapped them around their shoulders. "I guess this is still all a lot to take in. This whole, becoming a father thing is all so sudden, I'm not entirely sure how to take it." He paused before adding. "No, even before that, having all of you love me, while I was very happy that you all chose me... I wasn't sure if I was really up to it."

"So mature..." Sighed Kazehana lovingly as she nestled her head further into his neck.

"So you were just scared that you weren't up to it." Elaborated Homura for him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"That's right." Confirmed Minato without any hesitation. "I didn't really know how I could manage all of you. In fact, I'm still not sure. But now I know... I'll manage somehow."

"You won't manage it Minato." Said Akitsu as she wrapped her arms around the neck of a slightly confused Minato.

"We'll manage, Minato." Corrected Miya before kissing him on the forehead. "All of us. Together as one great family. It may not be easy, but the best things in life rarely are."

Before Minato could respond to all the affection, however, the sound of crying interrupted him. "Sallem?" He asked.

"Don't look at me like that!" Exploded Sallem through his tears. "Shiina's crying too!"

"I am not!" Denied Shiina, even though he clearly had streaks of water running down his face. "The scent of the cooking is just making my eyes water!"

"Damn it!" Cried Sallem. "Chibi isn't cooking with any onions, so there's no way the scent can be making you cry!" He was suddenly cut off by the sound of an alarm. "Speak of the devil. My egg timer just went off, which means that the cooking is done. Who's hungry?" He asked excitedly, and received the sound of several growling stomachs in response. "I'll take that as an everyone. Come on, let's eat! And remember, the sake is for the men only." He said as he made a beeline for the table and Chibi came in driving a toy train loaded with food.

Before Minato really knew what was happening, everyone else was already off of him and at the table. Chuckling silently to himself, he did the same. As he did, he reflected on what his Sekirei/Wives meant to him.

_'They're an important part of my life.'_ Minato thought as he sat down and took some of what could only be the appetizer and some water, preferring to stay away from alcohol._ 'It's certainly strange to have so many women love me, but I wouldn't trade what I have for the world. Each one is special in their own way. Musubi is so innocent, and so loyal and affectionate. Kusano may be just a little girl, but she's smart enough to see some things that I can't. Matsu may be perverse, but she always looks out for my interests, and supports me in everything. Tsukiumi can get jealous and clingy easily, but that and her shyness are both part of what makes her irreplaceable. Kazehana is flirtatious and lustful around me, but she's always looking out for me like a guardian angle. Homura is still a little uncomfortable about being a woman, but she's probably one of the most sane people here. Akitsu doesn't really have much common sense, but it makes me happy just to see her learn and grow. Miya... While I'm still not exactly sure how a woman who's been hurt and torn as much as she has fell in love again, let alone with me, I'm glad to know that she's opened up to me, especially since she's probably the glue that's held us all together this long. I just hope that I can be enough for all of them.'_

"You're all irreplaceable," Whispered Minato, just loud enough for his Sekirei to hear. "And I love you more than anything. Forever and ever." With various degrees of blushes adorning the faces of all of his lovers, and Shiina and Mutsu wearing knowing smiles, Minato started his meal.

* * *

**With Sallem - After Dinner**

"Well, I'd say that this was a happy ending for everyone." Smirked Sallem as he walked down the street, his wolf form and the fact that he could talk scaring the crap out of bystanders. "Wouldn't you agree, Deadman?"

"Stop calling me by the name of some comic book character." Complained a wisp of smoke slowly coming into focus, invisible and inaudible to all but Sallem.

"But don't you think that it sounds cooler this way, Takehito?" Whispered Sallem deviously.

The wisp of smoke, now discernible as what the reader can clearly tell by now is the ghost of Miya's late husband, narrowed his eyes at Sallem. "I don't care if you find it cooler," Warned Takehito. "You may be the only person who can see and hear me, but I'm in no mood to be taunted in such a manner."

"Your aura has no effect on me, remember?" Teased Sallem. "By the way, why are you still here? I thought that all of your lingering attachments to this world vanished once I ended the Sekirei Plan."

"They have," Said Takehito coldly. "I just wanted to... thank you for all that you've done."

"Thank me?" Joked Sallem. "As I recall, ever since I got involved, you've done nothing of great significance other than supply me with the information necessary to modify Miya and create the rewinging drug, as well as complain that I should put an end to the Sekirei Plan already. You and I never once got along this whole time."

"Yeah, and by the way, I don't take back any of the insults I sent your way." Takehito remarked. "But the fact that you went so far as to bend over backwards to find and make loopholes in a temporal paradox so that I could contact you is the one thing you did besides finally ending the Sekirei Plan that I'm really grateful for."

"Yeah, yeah." Muttered Sallem. "You're just lucky that Christian brat with a TARDIS had the rotten luck to show up when he did, otherwise things would be going much differently right now."

"And for that, I've very grateful to Cameron." Nodded Takehito. "You on the other hand, are just a rich idiot with no day job."

"Quoting tvtropes?" Sallem quirked an eyebrow. "I shouldn't have made the mistake of making you a computer that you can actually use. You've been spending too much time on the internet."

"I didn't really have much else to do." Said Takehito. "I'm a ghost, remember?"

"You could always go haunt a school or something." Joked Sallem. "I know this one place that gets enough weird traffic that you'd fit right in."

"No thanks." Takehito shoot that idea down. "Didn't that one kid have the ghost of a 9/11 suicide bomber haunting him?" He asked, obviously not believing the cover story.

"You mean Rito Yuuki?" Sallem nodded in recollection. "Yeah. That was a tricky job, but we handled it in the end." Looking into the sky as he pondered the idea, he continued. "How about Hogwarts? Plenty of ghosts around there."

"Pass." Takehito denied. "I just want to move on."

"You sure you don't want to see Miya one last time?" Asked Sallem, genuinely concerned. "I could make it happen."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Smiled Takehito slightly. "My time in her life is over, and Minato's has just begun. I would just needlessly complicate things if I got involved now. And besides, I know that she and all of the other Sekirei are happy, and that's really more than enough for me." As he said this, his grip on the world of the living began to slip, and he began to vanish.

"Looks like you're dead serious about this." Noticed Sallem. "Yo ho ho ho ho ho. Dead joke." He laughed softly, but there was no joy was behind it.

"Even to my end, your sense of humor is still corny." Takehito shook his head. "Did you give Minato my message?"

"Yeah." Nodded Sallem. "He should have found that ring you planned to give Miya by now."

"Good," Nodded Takehito. "At the very least, it will make a good engagement ring for him to give her." He wiped an ethereal tear from his vanishing eye. "I'm really going to miss her."

"You'll see her again eventually." Reassured Sallem. "Few things last forever, so you'll see all of them again someday."

"But hopefully not someday soon." Said Takehito hopefully as almost all of him had vanished by now. "I wish them all the best of luck. With how Sekirei can be, they're gonna need it." And with that, he crossed over.

"See you around, Takehito." Whispered Sallem sadly as he blinked the tears from his eyes. "For what it's worth, you were a great friend." And with that, Sallem went on his way. Off to more adventures of hunting, matchmaking, making money, and making friends, but first, he felt like freaking out the locals by going fishing. It wasn't every day that an oversized wolf in mismatched cosplay went fishing with high powered explosives.

* * *

Sorry it took so long to repost this again! I'll get my head on straight from now on. Anyway, I'll be posting a new poll on my profile in the near future to decide what I'll be doing after I get my current works out of the way. The poll won't guarantee what I choose to do next, but it will influence my decision.

Tonda Gossa!

Amen


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